Love Potion
by Amber Myst
Summary: Jinx casts a love spell on Robin but Raven becomes the object of his affections. What's a girl to do when the man who's fallen head over heels in love with her doesn't 'really' love her? She tries to cope of course, but his kisses are distracting...
1. The Obsession

Opening Notes: I know I shouldn't be starting a new story and that my other faithful reviewers probably hate me right now but this thing has been buzzing around in my head for long. In addition, my muses decided to go on strike until I completed most of this. So there is some good news. This is almost completely finished. All I have to do is finish the very last chapter and then the epilogue. You guys must be proud of me. So it's really just a matter of you guys reviewing and me updating and yes, in that order, lol. I'm such a review whore. I haven't been on this site a lot in the past 2 months so I have a lot of reading and reviewing to catch up on. I. _Despise. _School. Anyway, while you guys are reading this I will be working on my other uncompleted fics. This first chapter is dedicated to **Cherry Jade**. I promised to be her beta but I've found that I just have no extra time and I feel bad holding her up so much and not keeping my promise. I'm soooooooooooooo very sorry! Please forgive me? Anywho, you guys enjoy!

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Love Potion

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter one: It Begins...  
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Pink, narrow eyes watched, with a perverse combination of fascination, adoration and unbridled jealousy, the illustrious Teen Titans eat their pizza as they conversed gaily together of their latest defeat against herself, Gizmo and Mammoth. However, her eyes were all for the handsome team leader.

Did none of the Titans think that their absurdly easy win was the least bit suspicious? HIVE thoroughly and completely had demolished. However, the mission that they had set out for was not to destroy and it was accomplished. The trashing they received had served her purposes almost too well. All she needed was a lock of his wild, sable hair. That was all it took.

Her eyes narrowed further when the alien girl known as Starfire, touch Robin's arm flirtatiously and garnered his full attention in a single movement. Perfect, white teeth grounded together in agitation and frustration. That should be her with Robin! Touching him, whispering coyly in his ear as he smirked that oh so sexy smirk just for her!

Nevertheless, that would all change soon. Jinx smiled insidiously to herself. Soon all of her efforts and tribulations would come to fruition and she would have what she wanted with a passion more intense than the brilliant sun currently hanging overhead in the sky.

Her pink eyes glowed briefly and she smiled in satisfaction as the waiter carrying their next round of pizza tripped and covered Starfire in the disgusting substance. She despised pizza; it was just too bad that Robin loved it. But that also would soon change, he would be down on his knees kissing her feet in no time. Jinx whirled the ebony tresses of Robin's hair deftly through her fingers. She couldn't wait until she could sink her hands into his spiked hair and hold him against her.

She pocketed the piece of hair and patted the pocket almost affectionately, before retreating from the scene.

Robin fingers had just left the white, smooth surface of his mask after adjusting it properly, when the alarm blared loudly through the tower. He reacted immediately and ducked out of his room, almost colliding with Cyborg in the hallway. Only his lighting quick reflexes stopped him from coming to an abrupt and painful halt. "What's the trouble?"

"Oh man, the HIVE again. I guess they're back for another whoopin'!" Cyborg cajoled as the two were joined by the other three members of the team in the garage.

Robin felt a bit apprehensive, although he didn't know why. But it had a lot to do with the fight from yesterday. They defeated the HIVE way too easily. The battle was child's play and if the HIVE wasn't known for their complicated and extensive battle strategies then he was Slade's girlfriend.

Robin barely suppressed a shudder.

Furthermore, why attack two times in a row when you so thoroughly had your butt kicked the first time? He didn't exactly know why, but he would be going into battle with his guard up and on complete alert. His instincts were screaming at him and they were always right. Well…mostly right. HIVE was up to something and he was going to discover what it was.

Soon, they arrived at the crime scene: the current destruction of the Pizza Palace. Beast Boy turned a sickly shade of green and Cyborg gasped. "What in the-!"

"That's sacrilege!" Beast Boy wailed aghast as a pepperoni red table flew across the street.

"Riiight…and do you know what that word means BB or are you talking without thinking again?" Raven intoned sardonically. Honestly, the words that came out of Beast Boy's mouth.

Beast Boy frowned, brows knitting together as he flailed his arms around dramatically. "Shut it Rae, we have to save the pizza! NOOOOOOO! They're destroying the arcade!"

Cyborg echoed him and didn't even wait for the unceasing "Titans GO!" before rushing into battle, his sonic cannon bared and waving wildly in his mad dash to stop the destruction of such a sacred and important place.

Raven rolled her eyes. "That's all those two think about. Food and video games."

Robin smiled slightly before yelling what seemed to be his mantra, "TITANS GO!"

Raven and Starfire flew into battle and Robin sprinted after them. He sensed an attack to his left and came to a screeching halt, completing a backflip to evade a pink spear of energy that collided with the pavement three feet in front of him.

"Hey cutie!"

Robin lifted an eyebrow, causing one end of his mask to rise curiously. "Cutie?" He spat out with barely concealed disgust.

The pink-haired witch came into view and giggled. "I have a surprise for you Robin darling!"

Robin sighed. Why did he always have to get the psycho, villains? First Kitten, now this. Was his luck that bad? "Look Jinx, take your crew and beat it."

She didn't respond as she slowly walked towards her unsuspecting victim. Robin tensed and rose onto the balls of his feet so that he could react quickly if the witch decided to try something. "What are you trying to do?"

Jinx didn't stop, but a smirk spread itself across her features. "You will see."

Robin didn't wait as he launched himself at the witch, thrusting with his fist, an attack she dodged by leaning towards the side. To counterattack, she grabbed his out stretched arm and twisted her torso, throwing him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard and she jumped away, allowing him to regain his feet, which he did quickly. She would play with him a bit before she made him hers.

Raven floated above the fighting below, feeling slightly agitated. She sensed a strong undercurrent of magic from somewhere and it annoyed her to know that she couldn't place it. Dark, powerful magic and it raised the hair on her arms. She itched to attack and find the threat but it seemed that at the moment her help was not necessary. Beast Boy and Cyborg were currently engaged in battle with Gizmo and they seemed to be handling the mini nerd well enough. Starfire and Mammoth were going toe to toe, their supernatural strength put to the test. Starfire threw a punch coupled with a starbolt and Mammoth flew across the room, crashing into the counter, knocking over the register. Apparently, supernatural strength wasn't the only thing that was going to win that confrontation.

She didn't want to interfere with either battle, in case her unnecessary presence might throw off her fighting teammates. She would stay put until she was either attacked or needed. As she looked around, she realized two people were missing. 'Robin and Jinx…where are those two?' Most likely, the magic she sensed came from Jinx. Not knowing what the witch was capable of, Raven knew she would have to watch the teen closely.

She exited the Pizza Palace and saw the two missing teens fighting together. He didn't appear to need her help, so she took the moment to admire his fighting style. She could never hope to move with such grace, strength and fluidity. He moved as if he were water, flowing from one stance to another, one move to the next. She wouldn't underestimate herself, though owning her own seamless grace. One should never dismiss her own combative moves but she couldn't ever hope to rely on that alone to defeat Robin in battle.

Apparently, he was too much for Jinx to handle, as she watched the pink witch falter and fall under his next attack. With that in mind, it was a complete surprise when Robin went down in a flash of pink powder, Jinx almost leering over him.

Raven reacted immediately, using her dark powers to lift Jinx and throw her away from the fallen hero. The next comment she made was so obvious and pointless she had to wonder why she wasted her time and breath to say it. "That was the magic."

She tried to fly to him as quickly as she could, a sense of urgency clouding her mind, but a hand attached itself to her ankle. Her head snapped back to look into Mammoth jeering face as he swung her around 360 degrees and into the nearest building. Raven constructed a black shield around herself in time for the impact, emerging unscathed. She struggled with her cape for a second as she tried to unwind it from her body. Sometimes having a cape was a burden in itself.

When she regained control over her cape once more, she frowned as she saw Jinx hovering over Robin again, waiting for him to awaken.

'What in the world is she trying to do?' Raven wondered to herself as she lifted a nearby bus and threw it into an oblivious Mammoth almost without a second thought.

Throwing anything at the witch was unacceptable because she might harm Robin in the process so she flew at them as fast as she could. Raven watched the Boy Wonder slowly stir and the smile on Jinx's face widen and the same sense of urgency slammed into her again, more intense than only seconds before. Innate magically insight urged her to get to Jinx before Robin opened his eyes or something would go terribly wrong. With a burst of energy she didn't know she had, she increased her speed, slamming into Jinx and sending the witch flying. A small explosion sent her flying back even farther and into a nearby van. Raven managed to stop herself and turned back to Robin. She didn't stop to think about where the explosion came from but she knew she didn't do it. Raven knelt down next to Robin and brushed his hair back from his forehead, a motion she couldn't even begin to explain.

She placed her hand to his forehead almost delicately and closed her eyes. Her senses flared out, attempting to identify the type of spell Jinx used and maybe cancel the effects. Robin stirred beneath her fingers but she thought nothing of it as she concentrated, sending her aura out to investigate. Raven felt the interweaving of the spell, as it wove it's dark influence over it's helpless victim and felt it seep into Robin's very being, into every crevasse and crack of his mind and body. A growl ripped from her throat as she was completely helpless to stop it and her teeth grounded together in frustration as she tried to at least lessen its effect. However, despite her efforts, her influence seemed to do the complete opposite of helping. Her aura was suddenly sucked into Robin, pulled against her will and she could feel it twining with the spell and in turn, with Robin.

Suddenly, part of the spell seemed to be regurgitated into her. Raven jerked sharply as the spell, and a part of Robin sank deeply into herself, lost in the swirl of her dark purple aura, which wasn't quite hers anymore. She took a deep, sputtering breath as one who was suddenly resuscitated would. A few locks of pink hair fluttered lazily to the ground.

A cry of outrage from Jinx reached her shocked ears and she gasped when she realized what the spell was. She jerked her hand back swiftly, as if she was just burned and cradled it to her chest. Wide, amethyst eyes shot open and looked down into Robin's face who was watching her intently.

"Raven." The word barely left his lips before he passed out again, his head falling back onto the pavement.

Raven barely had the chance to react before she was tackled, thrown violently to the side as her assailant flew with her. Her head cracked sharply against the pavement and her vision briefly flashed white.

"You BITCH!" Jinx screamed as she punched and clawed at Raven. Her anger was so overwhelming that she seemed to degenerate into an almost animalistic rage.

Raven blocked what she could with her arms but she was still dazed from shock and the blow to her head. Her disbelieving mind still wouldn't even consider the fact that Jinx would use that type of spell on Robin. It was powerful and the ramifications of it were endless. She couldn't believe that Jinx had feelings for Robin that intense. The fact that she was the first person Robin saw when he awoke definitely did not help matters. However, her being the first person to cross his vision was infinitely better than Jinx being the first. Gathering her thoughts, she prepared herself for a counterattack.

"Azarath Metrion-"

As the furious witch above her was lifted up, she let her magical words trail off, unused. Her 'rescuer' was Cyborg, who was holding Jinx by her hands, restraining her from using her powers or harming anyone else. The partially metal human could barely keep a grip on the pissed teen, who kept trying to jerk herself from his strenuous grip.

"Damn Rae, what did you do to piss her off?" Cyborg asked incredulously. If his grip tightened anymore, he would crush her wrists.

Raven was about to reply when sirens interrupted her, indicating the arrival of the late authorities. Beast Boy and Starfire were finishing up with Mammoth, as Gizmo was already taken care, his long metallic legs wrapped from him. Gizmo had a deep scowl on his face; the irony of his own weapons being used to restrain him did not escape him

The dark teen took in the damage all around her and winced. Looks like they wouldn't be having pizza after this victory. Suddenly Starfire rushed past her, having seen Robin prone figure lying next to Raven. "What has happened to Robin?" She asked anxiously, wringing her hands together as her green eyes peering into his face worriedly.

The dark sorceress sighed. She would have to explain to the team what happened.

Oh joy.

Nevertheless, she would wait until they at least got to the tower. "He'll be alright Starfire." Raven intoned. "Let's just get him back to the Tower."

Raven shook her head as Gizmo managed to escape from the authorities and ran around to the front of the vehicle. Just as Gizmo reached the front, a dismembered, black claw plucked him from the ground and threw him into the back of the prison truck. Did he honestly believe he would get away?

"Just one question, how is his bike gonna home?" Beast Boy asked, something akin to hopefulness in his eyes.

Raven eyes bore into him and he started to fidget under the icy glare. "I'm only asking cuz he wouldn't want us to leave it here you know?"

He started to bounce around, his enthusiasm manifesting itself into his actions. "I'll be more than happy to take it home for him, you know." He coughed slightly into his fist, and became more serious as his eyes became huge, glittering with determination and affection. "Just know…I do this from my love for him."

"Beast Boy…I know." Raven growled in warning.

"Just let him take it." Cyborg threw him the keys, which Beast Boy caught gleefully. Raven shot him a curious look.

"Do you have any idea of what Robin will do to you if he finds out Cyborg?" Raven asked as she raised an eyebrow in question. Not that she actually cared. She just wanted to know why Cyborg had such suicidal tendencies.

Cyborg shrugged. "It had to get home somehow and think on the bright side. If it's destroyed and BB survives the crash then Robin will kill him and you won't have to worry about him again for the rest of your life."

Raven sighed, shaking her head before pulling her hood up to conceal her small smile. "You have a point. Let's get home and hopes he crashes on the way."

Cyborg smiled in return. "I'll rig the brakes, just in case."

_- Love is fire. But whether it's gonna warm your heart or burn your house down you can never tell. -_

The Titans gathered in the living room and Raven sighed as she watched a windswept Beast Boy try to land on the couch.

He missed and landed on the floor.

He was lucky he survived the trip home with the way he was weaving in and out of traffic going as fast as humanly possible. A fretful Starfire took the seat that would have been next to Beast Boy if he had hit the couch and they had to wait for Cyborg to enter because he was still in the med. lab with Robin.

After a few minutes Cyborg came in and sat down on the huge couch. "So spill Raven, what's so important that we have to have a meeting?"

Raven took a deep breath to calm herself. Her, nervous? Never. She cleared her throat and began.

"Well Jinx used a powerful spell on Robin." She paused as Starfire gasped and Cyborg became even more serious. Beast Boy still couldn't tell up from down.

"Is it malevolent?" Cyborg asked, curious as to what spell Jinx would use on the Boy Wonder.

Raven winced. "Somewhat."

Starfire frowned as she clasped her hands together in her lap. "I am afraid I do not comprehend that answer friend Raven."

"Yeah." Cyborg echoed, wanting to resolve this. Raven seemed flustered. What could possibly be so bad to fluster the dark goth?

"Jinx apparently had a crush on Robin and used a…love spell on him." 'Love' was the nicest way she could put what Robin would really feel when he woke up. Love was only part of it, a huge part true, but not the major component of the hex.

Everyone gasped in shock. "Does…does friend Robin love Jinx now?" Starfire asked quietly, trembling.

Raven could understand her apprehension, she really could. Starfire didn't want anyone to steal Robin away and she couldn't blame her. She would feel the same if she had the same chance as Starfire did. She frowned at herself and her foolish thoughts.

Raven shook her head. Starfire sighed in relief. "That is certainly a relief."

"He loves me."

Cyborg's and Beast Boy's jaws dropped open in shock and Starfire slumped over on the couch, landing on BB.

Apparently, the alien fainted.

Raven sighed and crossed her arms across her chest huffily. How in the hell was she supposed to deal with this?

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There you go! I hoped you guys enjoyed it! Once again, sorry CJ and everybody else! Review! 

_Spread your wings and fly….Butterfly_


	2. Cheesy Romance Novels

Hey guys! Chapter 2 is here! I've decided that I want a shameless plug section…yes that's right. I'm going to be downright shameless and there ain't nothin you can do about it, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I figured two new stories a day. The stories I plug will all be awesome fics and stories that I feel aren't receiving the recognition that they damn well deserve.

So first one is "Training School" and it's by BirdsOntheBrain. Absolutely awesome and it's not a high school fic either. It's original as far as I know and it's really funny and written superbly. (plug plug plug….plug) So get going! Wait, not yet! You have to read this first, jeesh.

The second one is "Wish" by Cherry Jade. This one's for more mature audiences but it's still a great read. It's well written and flows like silk, so go…after you read this.

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**Love Potion**

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter Two: Cheesy Romance Novel**

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Raven stalked into her room, and if she could have, she would have slammed the door behind her in a fit of anger. Hell, she needed some way to vent her frustration. This was just too much. When Robin awoke, he would be in love with her.

She could feel her nerves fraying swiftly as she paced back and forth. Her powers lashed out and her mirror was destroyed with a resounding crash. "Damn. I need to get this under control."

She folded her legs together, assuming the lotus position, as she initiated her meditation. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

She began to levitate off the ground. 'I am not powerless…I can control this.' Were her thoughts as she repeated her mantra aloud.

This situation was too bizarre, even for her. All of a sudden, Robin was suppose to feel a love for her only found in chick flicks and cheesy romance novels.

She hated cheesy romance novels.

A forlorn sigh escaped her parted lips. She and Robin would hopefully be able to handle this like mature adults. They were both seventeen after all. Well at least the team was taking it as best as could be expected. Starfire woke up and she was calm, albeit a bit quiet and withdrawn. She hoped her naïve friend would be okay. Everyone knows she has a thing for Robin and she hoped this wouldn't hurt the gentle alien. Hell, she would be happier if Starfire was in her position instead.

Beast Boy wouldn't stop teasing her about it.

Raven gritted her teeth. She was going to hurt that green changeling and enjoy it immensely. Cyborg…well he was taking it better than she was. He may act like a child all the time, despite being the oldest, but at times, he seemed to be older than all of them combined.

Her violet eyes glanced towards the windows, it was cloudy and looked as if the clouds would break open and shower Jump City in its downpour. And it had started out as such a bright, lovely day. She shook her head, surprised at how easily she had been distracted. This was really getting to her and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Back to the problem at hand, the spell. Raven didn't know what it was, only that it was dangerous and powerful. Even with her teachings from Malchior, she didn't know much about it. She could always look through the books he had left her, perhaps for an antidote. She sighed and bit her lip slightly. She promised herself she wouldn't do any more dark magic. Breaking that promise did not seem like a very good idea. 'It's okay.' She assured herself. 'It's for research purposes only, not to use and only if I can find something useful.'

All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness swamped her and she had to catch herself before she fell from the air. "I need some fresh air." She breathed before turning into her soul self and flying up through the ceiling. Her destination was the rooftop, where she could feel at peace and hopefully regain some semblance of control.

Something she highly doubted.

_-To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.-_

With a moan, Robin opened his eyes, blinking to adjust to the almost blinding light. He sat up quickly and he moaned in protest. Baaaddd move. The room swirled around him and he groaned as he felt the sudden urge to run to bathroom, only he didn't think he would make it in time. He turned to the nearby trashcan, and deposited the contents of his stomach there.

The last thing he remembered seeing was a beautiful angel. He shook his head, that didn't sound right. Seeing how he was alive and well, he couldn't have possibly died. It was…Raven, that's right. He raised a dark eyebrow, his mask reflecting the surprised action. Since when had Raven been a beautiful angel? That term would have seemed perfect for Starfire but not for Raven. Raven was certainly beautiful but no angel, something entirely different was required. Maybe a dark goddess. She was too…sensual to be an angel. The term 'angel' evoked feelings of sanctuary, feelings of safety and such stuff. Like 'warm in your bed, tucked snug under the covers' feeling. Her sensual curves and mystical features were anything but safe. Especially when she directed her dark, smoky gaze on you.

He shuddered.

Robin paused. He shouldn't be thinking of Raven in this manner. However, he couldn't seem to help himself. In fact, he had a certain urge to see her now. Not one to ignore his instincts he stumbled out of his bed and the room. The nausea he felt seemed to double and he bent over, breathing hard as sweat began to run into his eyes. He felt his instincts urging him to the roof. He half ran, half floundered up the stairs.

_- In all that we do let us do it for love.-_

Robin stumbled onto the roof, holding his head. "Damn." Nausea rolled through him and he paused as he felt the sudden urge to throw up everything he'd ever eaten in his life.

"Robin?" A soft voiced questioned as he tried to regain equilibrium and waited for the world to stop spinning. It sounded like…Raven, and strangely, music to his ears. He lifted his head and his eyes collided with worried violet ones. He felt a jolt to his system, and his heart tightened, sped up and stopped all at the same time. Strangely, his nausea faded away as soon as he heard her voice.

Raven began to fidget under his intent stare but he couldn't divert his eyes. She was so beautiful and he could feel the desire inside him for her swell and grow like a tide, the waters held back only by his fear and the respect he held for her. He shook his head almost desperately, anything to drive the vision of the dark goddess from it. He shouldn't be thinking of Raven like that, but God help him he couldn't stop. He closed his eyes as sweat trickled between them.

All he could think of was Raven.

Raven's silky hair, her vividly beautiful eyes, her pale skin. Raven touching him, him caressing her. Raven under him, Raven screaming his name. He felt his knees buckle from his desire. His mouth suddenly went dry and he swallowed hard as he sank to the rooftop. "What's going on?" He asked Raven hoarsely.

He bent over so that his forehead rested against the cold, almost soothing concrete. It felt as if a raging fever was consuming him, burning him. The only antidote he could imagine in his foreseeable future was Raven.

Raven watched Robin anxiously. He seemed to be in pain, but she knew better. It was the side effects of the spell. She only knew the basics of it, not all the ramifications but she determined to look it up for both of their sakes. Wanting to go to him but unsure of how he would react, she stood there apprenhsively. Maybe if she touched him, whatever he was going through would stop? Or at the very least, lessen. Part of her curse as an empath was the ability to take on the emotions of others.

"Robin." She said again hesitantly as she approached him slowly. She didn't want this! She felt like ranting and raving, screaming that this wasn't fair, that she couldn't afford to feel anything…wasn't destined to fall in love.

She touched her hand to his moist cheek and gasped at the transfer of emotions into herself, her breath stopping in her chest. She felt desire, raw and unbridled lust, coupled with a fierce love and she wondered how she didn't sense it all as soon as he awakened. She fell to her knees next to the kneeling Boy Wonder and tried to catch her breath, her chest heaving with the effort. That wasn't the only thing she felt though. Raven felt confusion and under it all, a healthy dose of fear. Robin was still in there somewhere and he was aware of it all. She thought that maybe the spell had made him a mindless love slave. She was glad to know differently.

"I have something to tell you." She said to him as she stared resolutely into his masked eyes. He seemed to tremble under her touch as he nuzzled his face into her hand almost absently mindedly. Raven bit back a gasp as another wave of emotion rolled over her and she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on what she wanted to say. Feelings swirled deep within the core of her and she didn't even know how to begin to deal with them. She didn't want to control them yet, just keep her head above water and not drown within them.

"Do you know what's wrong with me?" He asked her, his voice even more hoarse than before. He wanted desperately to know what was going on. All he could think of was the dark girl kneeling in front of him.

Raven nodded. "Jinx cast a spell on you earlier today."

Robin frowned as he tried to remember. "When…when she threw the pink powder at me." Raven nodded and he continued. "I remember waking up to a face and thinking it was the most beautiful thing I had ever since."

He smiled slightly when Raven's face tinged red. Robin's smile swiftly disappeared at the spear of heat that shot through him.

"But now I…I want you." He said simply, it was the only way to describe the intense emotions he was feeling. "No, I need you." It was almost as if he were craving a drug that he desperately needed to function.

Raven sighed wearily. At least he was honest. "It was a love potion to make you fall in love with her. I believe she had a crush on you."

Robin's mask widened in his realization. "So that's why that psychopathic witch was calling me cutie and darling." He shuddered and Raven smiled slightly. "God, why me? Is my luck that bad? First Kitten and now this. Why can't they fall for Beast Boy? I'm sure he would enjoy the attention." Robin muttered angrily.

Raven's tiny smile widened slightly. "That's probably why; someone had to suffer."

Robin didn't respond. He was entranced by Raven's smile. The enticing curve of luscious soft lips. Lips that were begging to be kissed. Lips that promised to be the softest thing his own would ever have the pleasure of tasting.

He leaned forward, not realizing what he was doing until Raven fell backwards, trying to avoid his searching lips. He blinked before climbing to his feet hastily, his eyes wide. "Fuck!" He swore. "I'm sorry Raven."

Raven gave him a shaky smile. "What are you sorry for? I'm just so damn irresistible."

Robin stared at her blankly before forcing out a breathless laugh. "Please tell you're joking."

Raven sighed. "Well duh….Hang me for trying to lighten the mood."

"Please don't joke like that, not when I feel like ravishing you where you sit." Robin sighed, and

thrust his hand through his tangled hair. He winced as several strands of hair followed the movement of his combing fingers, exiting as they did.

Well he hadn't exactly meant to say that, although he felt it. This was just too much for him to take in. He watched her pale and stiffen and he immediately regretted his hasty words. He didn't want to scare Raven but hell, he was scared himself.

"What are we going to do?" He asked her quietly, his voice almost desolate.

Raven shook her head. Oh God, she was not ready for this. She thought maybe she could handle it but apparently, she was wrong. The raw emotion was overwhelming her. "I don't know."

Thunder crashed up above them and lightening ripped the sky apart, precedent to the sudden torrential rain that began to fall. Robin helped Raven to her feet and they ran for the door as the rain took its fury out on the poor birds. In the few seconds that took, the two became drenched.

"Why us?" Raven wailed suddenly in frustration. Her powers lashed out without her permission and the door leading out to the roof was torn off of it's hinges and swung violently out into the down pour. Both teens watched wordlessly as they dripped all over the floor.

"Umm…I need to meditate." With that said Raven melted into the floor, leaving Robin soaking wet where he stood.

_-Love fails, only when we fail to love.-_

A scream ripped out as a chair went flying across and a teen scrambled out the way hastily as another simply let the chair smash into his huge chest.

The teen that dodged the projectile frowned as he started to rant. "What in the hell is your problem butt munch?"

Jinx's frown deepened as she picked up the counterpart of the chair and hurled it at Gizmo. He 'eeped' and barely dodged that one.

"That's it! You're a crazy bitch!" He scrambled behind Mammoth, as the third chair from the set grazed his bald head.

"You guys had one simple task, keep the Titans busy while I tended to Robin, was that SO FUCKING DIFFICULT!" she screeched as she flung the last chair at her two teammates.

Mammoth caught it with one hand.

"Well, barf brain, if you hadn't noticed, even without Robin there's four of them against two or us!" Gizmo grumbled forlornly and crossed his arms. "Jeez, your stupid little crush almost got us sent to jail anyway."

The three had escaped incarceration by Gizmo's ingenious. He hid a small explosive on the front of the prison van, right before Raven picked him up with her powers and tossed him into the back. Gizmo grumbled some more under his breath while Mammoth inquired, "Why don't you just give him the antidote and do it all over again, barf brain?"

Jinx shook her head, her rampage winding down. "I…I don't know the antidote." She sank to her knees and resisted the childish urge to cry. She had been waiting for this for so long…and then for Raven to come and ruin it for her…it wasn't fair!

She shrugged away Gizmo's hand harshly as she vented.

It was all Raven's fault. She could feel her hatred for the empath fester and grow deeper with each passing thought. That bitch would pay for taking away the man she loved. She would pay with her life. The two always seemed to be tacit nemesis, being the only two females wielding magic. Now, it was personal. Her eyes flashed malevolently and even Mammoth took a step back, fearfully of what their unspoken leader would do.

"I believe one way to cancel out this spell would be to kill Raven." Jinx laughed coldly as she climbed to her feet. Her lips curved cruelly in anticipation.

"This will be fun."

_-Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.-_

Raven sat upon in the middle of her large bed pouring intently through a book as dozens of other tomes surrounded her. Some were large, dusty and old, spanning centuries of use. Others were smaller and surely did not hold as much, but their yellow, aging pages still might have held the information she was searching for. She slammed the book she was reading shut with a growl of frustration, a cloud of dust entering the air. She coughed as she tried to dispel it from her lungs, waving her hands in the air.

That had to be the fiftieth book she looked through, and she still couldn't find a damn thing! She knew it was dark magic, on that much she was positive. Then why couldn't she find anything in these dark tomes about it?

Raven sighed as a book that was lying on the bed was surrounded by her dark energy and tossed across the room. She really needed to calm down. She closed her eyes as black tendrils retrieved the book and placed it in her hand.

Raven opened her eyes to peer down at the book in her fingers. She perked up slightly as she read the title of the manuscript.

"Emotional Incantations." She said aloud. "Hopefully I can get some kind of answers from this." She grumbled as she parted the pages and looked at the table of contents. There was anger, hate, happiness, etc. She kept scanning until she reached the section that read 'Love' page 143. Raven couldn't help but smile wryly at the irony or maybe coincidence of the page number.

She flipped to the page and started to read.

**§§§§**

Hey guys! I had to end it there, or otherwise the chapter would have gone on for twice this length.

**BlackEmbers**: WooHoo! My first review for this story! Yeah, I hate it when people are out of character too. If later on in the story Raven seems a bit out of it, there is a very good reason for it! So don't hold it against me too much.

**Just-another-reader:** Less than two days later, I think that's a record for me. Thanks for reviewing!

**Evilsangel**: Hmmm….I'm not sure I wanna tell, at least not yet. Don't worry though if you didn't figure it out this chapter you will next one, until then.

**Iris Night**: Okay, no worries! Raven will _not_ be used in this fic. And if anything, Robin will be _her_ boy toy! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Lol. But do expect Raven to find the situation beyond awkward as she has very little experience with emotions so she won't be calling all the shots.

**Raven-Angel-of-Darkness**: Aww shucks! Thanks, I'm glad you like it so much. Hmmm…I never really contemplated this whole 'love rectangle' maybe I will elaborate on the Starfire angle a bit. I'm not sure if I'm going to make her too dramatic though. She came off really bad in my last fic...oops. But honestly, the alien annoys the hell out of me. I _could_ make it into a love hexagon because it's already a love pentagon….and you are wondering who this fifth person is, yes? Well it ain't Beast Boy….nor Cyborg….and I'm not saying anything else on the matter so nyah! (sticks out tongue) Stick around and find out.

**Raerob4ever**: Yeah, that's very true and I had already anticipated the outcome of that endeavor. Love is the nicer way to put it and if I had said lust then the birds would never have any time alone. They would probably insist on them having a chaperone and then where would we be? Plotless, that's where. I still think they do need one, though.

**Crystaltear CT**: Thanks! I went over that chapter about a bazillion times so that there wouldn't be any errors and that my descriptions flowed and made sense. Eh, we all do weird things when we're in love or when we really want something, so I figured Jinx would go and get her 'man'. Anywho, thanks for liking me enough to threaten me…errr. If that made any sense. Lol.

**Sadista**: AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! It's Sadista, formerly known as AriesFalcon! How could I _ever_ forget you? How could you _ever_ think something like that? You're one of my most faithful and favorite reader/writer! I like your new s/n, any particular reason why you changed it? Anywho, I've read your new fic, tre cool! I so want my own Robin now, absolutely awesome. And as to reading your fics, you don't even _have_ to ask me. Just tell me you have a new TT fic up and demand that I read it, lol. Got a lot more people to thank so I'm moving on. Ciao!

**Hound Archon:** Thanks! And here's that chapter you were looking forward to.

**SweetNCrazieSugarmuffin**: Wow, that s/n is a mouthful, lol. Yeah, as far as I know SF doesn't know any magic so I made the person Jinx. Besides, she made the plot so much more realistic. I can't see Starfire casting love spells and forcing Robin to love her. Well, then again maybe I can….

**Ni9ghtdreame12**: Yep, I love em too.

**Cherry Jade**: THANK YOU! I was really anxious waiting for your review….not like I assumed you would…I just thought that you might. I'm really happy though, and I'm exstactic that you like it, every inch. I LOVED wish! Anywho, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Darkmagic21**: Thanks for reviewing! And the wasn't all that long either.

**Sariii**: Yeah, I figured I should finish most of it first or I'd end up like I did with Hell's Fury. Hell, I still might end up that way, but I doubt it. Thanks for taking the time to talk to little ol' me.

**Palidin**: Ummm…it's right here, lol!

**BirdsOnTheBrain**: Hey, just for the record, I absolutely _adore _Training School. Thanks for the compliment and here's your update.

**Miraculasacies**: Hey! (looks offended and hurt) Okay, yeah. Maybe I deserved that, even if you didn't mean it as a burn and don't feel bad or offended about what your wrote because I'm joking. But I haven't abandoned it. Why, I just finished the thirteenth chapter and it will be up soon, promise! Thanks for reviewing!

**Chica De Los Ojos Café**: I love you! Don't get scared or nervous or anything, I don't say that a lot to other girls cuz I am one, but you have to be one of my most faithful reviewers. I look forward to your reviews with every chapter I post. I hope this is soon enough for you!

**Lady Serenity Moon Child:** Thank you! You're the second person to say that, so it must be true, lol.

**Monito**: Lol. Yeah, I like it too. I think you won the award for the having least amount of syllables in a review! Congradulations….I think.

**Spooke**: I'm glad you like it, the next chapter and most of them after this are already done. Thanks for taking the time to leave your opinion.

**Delirium24**: Well, you definitely won the award for having the least amount of words in a review, lol. Glad to know you find it interesting. Hopefully you thought that this chapter was interesting too.

**Alena-chan: **Thanks! I must be good if you're telling me so. After all I think you're one of the best R and R writers on the site and you'd know what's good and what's not. I am absolutely _crazy_ for Casablanca Lilies. Heal me is excellent and it really pisses me off that the site keeps deleting it. Idiots… I have to get around to picking back up with Desert Rose. As I've said earlier, I haven't been on the site much lately and I have a _lot_ to catch up on. So ciao!

And everyone remember to review!

**§§§§**

_Spread your wings and fly….Butterfly_


	3. Distractions

**A/N I:** Hola amigos! Como estas? Yo estoy bien! Hey….I know Spanish! Anywho, here's an update, not as quick as last time but I think I did good. Besides, this one's almost twice as long so it's okay. I figured my routine will be a chapter every four days, not bad right? My plugs for this chapter are:

"**Casablanca Lilies" by Alena-Chan**…don't even get me started on how absolutely awesome that story is, otherwise we'd be here all day and we wouldn't get to the next chapter.

This next one has nothing to do with Teen Titans but (shrugs) oh well. If you are a fan of Pokemon and the couple of Ash and Misty, Pink Falcon has a new story out named **Phantom**. Oh. My. God. It is really awesome, so check it out!

**A/N II:** For many of my reviewers who didn't know 143 I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just assumed everyone would have known what it meant. It means I love you. 1 for the letter I, 4 for each letter in love and 3 for every letter in you. Yeah. I promise I didn't make that up. I picked it up somewhere on the internet or my friend told me or something like that.

**A/N III:** Anywho just for the record, I plan on updating every four days, just to set a routine for you guys. I'm going to try and stick as closely to that as I can but I'm not perfect.

**§§§§**

**Love Potion**

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter III: Distractions (think of kittens)**

**§§§§**

This wasn't fair.

Robin sat in the dimly lit living with a frown on his face, his displeased and angry expression bordering on petulant. He had been sitting there ever since Raven vanished. Well, he went to his room first to dry off and change but afterwards he went to the living room and finding it empty, he sat down. That was over three hours ago. It was still raining outside, a crack of thunder rumbling across the darkened, weeping heavens. Almost instantly, lighting ripping unbridled across the sky. The feelings churning inside matched the storm raging outside of the Tower's walls.

It wasn't fair to be forced to love someone he didn't want to love. But he should be use to things not being fair, life wasn't fair. He sighed, as he thought of Raven. Well, she hadn't really left his thoughts, even with the inner turmoil he was suffering with. He felt the need to be with her, every second he wasn't his heart clenched and his chest tightened to the point where he had to force himself to breath. He took several deep breaths, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly to calm his erratic heart. He didn't want to be dependent on the dark girl. If this scared him then it meant that Raven was terrified. She didn't handle emotion well and he didn't want to thrust any of this on her but unfortunately, he had no choice. At least he could be sure she'd handle it maturely.

This was all Jinx fault. He thought of the pink witch and scowled. If it weren't for Raven hewould be in love with Jinx. He shuddered. Being in love Raven was waaayyyy better than beingin love with Jinx. Besides feeling as if he would die if he didn't have her touching him, it reallywasn't that bad, well so far anyway. If he had to pick a female to spend all his time with, it wouldprobably have been Raven anyway. She was intelligent, sarcastic but in a witty, funny way, andthey would never run out of things to talk about. That is, if he could get her to start talking in the first place.

His scowled deepened. Were those feeling from the spell or himself? He sighed, frustration lacing the whoosh of breath. He hated being manipulated in any way.

'Well,' he thought to himself. 'I think it's me. All those things are true, and things I might have thought before today, so I guess so.' And if her mind didn't keep them occupied then her body would be more than enough. Okay, now that was the spell talking.

Wasn't it?

Suddenly, a jagged flash of lighting crashed nearby and the lights went out. He jumped up too quickly and tripped over the coffee table. Cursing to himself, heclimbed to his feet, vaulting over the couch. He walked quickly over to the door, knowing there would be nothing to impede his progress.Using his hands, hetried to pry it open but it wouldn't budge. He frowned. Who's idea was it to have electric doors? What was he suppose to do now that he couldn't get out?

That fact was finally driven home…he couldn't get out. He wasn't claustrophobic or anything remotely similar but his breathing quickened. That meant he couldn't get to Raven. He felt need swamp him and he leaned against the door. He felt sick again. Maybe it was one of the side effects of the spell?

Maybe if he was separated from Raven any extensive length of time then he would feel ill? Hegroaned as he stomached churned. Well he got his answer.

Myriad, confusedthoughts ran wildly through his head. Then where was she? Was she feeling the same things he was? He could feel her aura but he couldn't pin point it. His eyes widened. How could he 'feel' where she was at? Could she feel him too? "Raven." He whispered breathlessly.

He rested his feverish forehead against the cool, smooth metal of the door. He was burning up, as if a flames were slowly consuming him from the inside out. He gritted his teeth as his stomach clenched painfully. "Where are you…I need you."

Suddenly a black form morphed through the door he was leaning against and fell backwards in shock. "Raven." He breathed. She was a sight for sore eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, as she knelt next to him, her cape settling around her shoulders.

Robin nodded wordlessly. "How did you know?"

Raven frowned as she shrugged her shoulders. "I heard you. You feel sick don't you?"

"No. Well, I did before you walked though the door but now I'm fine. I figure that it was a side effect from being away from you ."

Raven closed her eyes and nodded as she tried to keep from screaming in frustration.It was dark, what did it matter if her eyes were open or not, even if she did have excellent night vision?

"Yeah, I found some information about it but I need you to tell me what other symptoms you're suffering from."

There was a lengthy silence and Raven opened her eyes, annoyed at his silence only to gasp. Robin was only inches away from her. How did he move so close without her noticing?

She held her breath as he looked into her violet eyes intently. "Rae." His husky tones displayed every emotion she had felt on the rooftop and every emotion she was sure she would see reflected in his eyes if he wasn't concealing them.

His hands came up and unlatched her cape, the material sliding to the floor. His fingers lingered for only a few seconds on her shoulders. The obscured eyes that were boring into hers left, trailing downwards and over her body in a heated manner.

Raven flushed, feeling heat creep over her face. It was dark but with the occasion flash of lighting she was sure he could see plenty. Now she wasn't too self conscious and obviously didn't mind people seeing her in her leotard; she wore it all the time although she always wore her cloak. Nevertheless, the eyes observing her had never displayed so much heat. It was as if he was undressing her with his eyes and could see ever inch of flesh she hid from the world. She raised a hand to push him away him but he caught it, instead pressing it gently to his cheek. The hand holding her own slid down to her forearm in a whisper of movement. Raven trembled as she stared at him, entranced or maybe stunned by his audacity.

How did he evoke so many feelings in her with a simple touch? Maybe it was a side effect of the spell. Maybe it was her own feelings, but she honestly didn't know. And at the moment she didn't care to know.

He tugged gently on the part of her arm that he was holding and she fell into him with little resistance, her cape surrounding them both. He let go of her arm and trailed his fingers lightly down her sides, resting them on her hips as he buried his face into neck, inhaling her unique scent. Raven froze, violet eyes wide as he started to trail hot, open-mouth kisses up her neck. She bit back a small moan and closed her eyes, relishing in the sensations as she buried her hands in his hair.

The logical part of her mind screamed at her to stop; to get a grip on her rampant emotions before something went horribly wrong but she couldn't hear it over the blood pounding in her ears and the erratic beating of her heart, didn't want to hear it. He reached the underside of her chin and she shuddered. Tilting her head back so that her hair fell backwards, it brushed her shoulders as she gave him better access. He began to nibble along the underside of her jaw, finally reaching her ear and drawing the earlobe gently between his teeth and tugging.

"Robin…" She murmured through clenched teeth. 

Suddenly the lights fluttered on with the sound of whirling machinery. The abrupt brightness awoke her from her trance and with a small cry she pushed Robin away from her and melted into the floor.

Robin simply laid there, his chest heaving as he tried to grab hold of his frenzied breathing. His blood was pounding in his ears and the hum of the backup generator was barely discernible. He closed his eyes trying to calm him wildly careening thoughts.

"God…" He moaned softly as he rolled onto his stomach and used his arms to push himself back into a kneeling position. The position he and Raven were just… Shaking his head, he firmly pushed that dangerous thought aside. He couldn't believe he just did that! Better yet, he couldn't believe that Raven just melted into his arms, letting him have his way with her. For a second, he damned Cyborg's backup generator, wanting nothing more than to finish where he and the dark girl left off. But as the fervor and his passion clouded mind cleared he realized that they were damned lucky it turned on when it did.

He groaned as he picked himself up off the floor. Damn, he needed a cold shower.

_- To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven -_

Raven stood in front of her bathroom mirror shivering violently. She gripped the porcelain sink so tightly, her knuckles were white with the strain. Breathing heavily, she thanked the heavens above it didn't go any farther than it did. Because she would have let him take her right then and there and wouldn't have given a damn about the consequences.

"Shit." She swore to herself as she tried to turn on the faucet. It took three tries because she was shaking so badly. "Calm Raven…you can handle this." She told herself.

Her thoughts suddenly flashed back to the previous moment and she barely repressed a shudder. "Fuck, I can't handle this."

Once the basin was full, she turned off the tap and dump a washcloth in. She let it soak before she wrung out any excess water and placed it against the back of her neck. Her skin seemed to be on fire and the cool cloth felt heavenly against her overheated body. She closed her eyes and hummed slightly to distract herself from any inappropriate thoughts and heated flashbacks as she soaked the washcloth again and wrung it out once more, this time placing it against her forehead.

'Think safe things, like kittens, rainbows, fluffy rabbits…big, soft things...long, hard things.' Raven thought firmly to herselfbefore she muffled a scream at herself for that last thought. "Stop thinking about it!"

A x-rated vision flashed through her head and she flinched, horrified. "No, not 'it', I meant Robin!" She muttered to herself. God, her raging hormones were working over time.

After repeating the action of placing the cool washcloth against her skin a few more times, she pulled the plug and watched the water drain. She turn off the light and left the bathroom, stripping as she went. It was late, a little after midnight and she went to her dresser to get her pajamas. It was only a black, silk tank top and matching shorts that reached mid thigh and she toppled into bed.

However, she tossed and turned, mumbling to herself as she tried to find a comfortable position. It was so hot, she was glad that she had decided to wear her silk pajamas to bed. Finally, she became fed up with the discomfort and slipped out of bed, mumbling as she approached her window, throwing it open. A soft breeze floated in, bringing with it the refreshing coolness and salty smell of the bay and she sighed in relief before turning around and stumbling back towards her bed. She climbed in and didn't even bother with the sheets. After a few seconds, she fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of the Boy Wonder doing inappropriate things to her.

_- True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly -_

Raven sighed in contentment, as she rolled over her in bed, her arm colliding with something that let out a soft moan. She muttered an almost incoherent, "Sorry," before twisting around once more in the pair of arms that held her and drifting back to sleep.

A split second later, Raven's eyes shot wide open when she realized a few things. One, there was someone in bed with her. Two, there was a pair of arms encircling her waist. Three, there was someone, other than her in her room.

She scowled at her own redundant stupidity. "Great deduction, Sherlock."

Raven tried to scoot out of bed discreetly but she became entangled in the sheets, rolling out of bed and hitting the floor. She decided right then and there as she stared at her ceiling, that now would be a good time to scream bloody murder, discretion really wasn't very important at the moment. And so she did, waking up every titan in the tower. Scrambling to her feet, she was still wrapped in her sheets. It took her two seconds to realize that the man in her bed was Robin, who had shot up when she screamed. He was now scratching his head in confusion, trying to grasp what was happening.

"What are you doing in my room Raven?" He asked suddenly.

She huffed in irritation. "Excuse me? YOUR room?"

At that moment the rest of the titans ran into room. They came to a screeching halt, eyes wide and jaws gaping at the sight. Their leader was in Raven's bed with a sheet draped across his waist, everything up from that point was bare and Raven was standing next to the bed red-faced with a sheet wrapped around her body.

"Eh. Should we leave you two alone?" Beast Boy spoke without thinking as he was prone to do.

Raven shot him a death glare and watched with satisfaction as he withered and died beneath it.

"What's going on?" Robin looked from Raven's red face to the team's bewildered ones.

"You tell me?" Raven demanded, deciding to untangle herself from the sheet fall and crossing her arms across her chest upon completion "What are you doing in my bed?" she hissed.

Robin decided to stop a second and look around before he embarrassed himself anymore. Taking in the dark walls, bookshelves and creepy masks he came to a startling conclusion. "This isn't my room."

Raven rolled her eyes heavenward. "Please help me." She muttered to herself as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Oh. I can see now why you are such a wonderful detective." She said, voice dripping with sarcasm despite the sharp look Robin was sending her way. "Now please kindly get the hell out of my bed!"

Robin frowned before sliding to the edge of the bed and standing up immediately. He turned back towards his team, who were still watching him. "What?" He muttered peeved, before scratching his cheek sleepily. He still didn't know how he ended up in Raven's bed. And he was tired as hell.

He didn't receive an answer and his team couldn't seem to draw their eyes from him. "What?" He snapped, slightly irritated. He felt a slight breeze and he couldn't help but freeze in barely concealed horror. 'Please tell me I'm wearing pants. Please tell me I'm wearing pants. Hell, I can do without pants as long as I'm not standing here in the nude.' He thought to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Dude, you're standing there in your boxers." Beast Boy pointed out, snickering slightly.

Robin looked down and sure enough, his Batman boxers were on display for everyone to see. He let out a sigh of relief and a smile bloomed onto his face. "Thank god for good 'ol Bruce." He froze again. Did he just say that out loud?

He looked up and everyone was still looking at him strangely. He cleared his throat, turning his smile into a frown. "Just my boxers? Damn where did I put those pajamas." He gave a strangled laugh and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He wondered briefly where the breeze he felt came from and he twisted his torso slightly to look over his shoulder. Ah, open window.

"Robin…you need help." Cyborg declared. "And I am no where near qualified or awake enough to give you the help you need. So I suggest you get a psychiatrist and let the rest of us sleep. I'm gone." Cyborg barely refrained from yawning and walked from the room, lifting a hand absently in farewell.

Beast Boy didn't try to stop the yawn that erupted from him, not even bothering to cover his mouth. "You guys got issues and it is waaayyyy too early to try and solve them at this moment, so I'm just gonna go back to bed." He followed in Cyborg's wake as he left the room.

Starfire was the only one left, her green eyes still wide. They shimmered brightly with as undecipherable emotion as she turned without a word and returned to her own room.

Robin blinked and then looked to Raven. "What just happened?" Fuck it. It was way too early to try and figure it out.

Raven growled, she was determined to get her answer if it killed him. "What in the hell were you doing in my bed!"

"Apparently sleeping." Robin answered dryly as he climbed back into her bed and pulled the cover over his head.

Raven barely managed to hold back a scream as she grabbed a handful of her hair and closed her eyes. "Calm Raven…calm."

"You know speaking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." She opened her eyes, murder blazing brightly within the amethyst depths, to look down at Robin who was looking back up at her with an indeterminable expression on his face.

"You!" She growled before she launched herself at him, trying to get her hands around his neck.

He laughed as he fell backwards holding her wrists. She had more strength in her petite form than Robin would have originally thought as she came dangerously close to curling her fingers around his neck. They wrestled around a bit until she was straddling his waist, still determined to wring his scrawny neck.

It took Raven a few seconds to realize their suggestive position and she blushed, stopping her struggle.

Apparently it occurred to Robin too because he hastily let her go. His expression became fearful and she just had to ask what his problem was as she crossed her arms over her chest. She trapped her hands beneath her arms as they still itched to curl around his neck.

"What?" She snapped darkly, suppressing the urge to choke the life out of him.

"Did we-uh did we…" He stumbled over his words but what he was trying to ask was inescapably lucid. He hoped to high heaven they didn't but a part of him was kind of hoping they did. He grimaced. That was the spell talking…he hoped.

"No." She answered shortly, watching him curiously.

He pouted playfully. "Too bad."

She sighed and counted to three before swinging her left leg over him and sliding out of bed.

"Out. NOW!" She demanded, pointing towards the door as the pillow behind his head exploded.

"I need to meditate." She muttered to herself.

Robin winced before hastily doing as she asked. He didn't want to piss her off anymore, at least for that morning anyway. "You think?" He asked sarcastically.

He ducked out of the door just in time to avoid Raven's shoe being launched at his head. It banged loudly against the wall next to him.

Okay, that was the last time he pissed her off.

_- Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile -  
_

The rain had let up some time ago, reduced to light drizzle. It was almost noon, but not many people were walking around. Jinx tapped her foot in impatience as she waited for her comrades to reappear. She peered into the dark alley that was standing at the mouth of and resisted the urge to yell their names. "What is taking those idiots so long?"

A loud crash later, Mammoth and Gizmo came into view, almost running her over. "Did you do it?"

"Yep, we tripped the alarm, all we have to do now is wait for those stupid barf bags to show up! And this time we're not going to easy on them!" Gizmo declared with false glee as his four, long, metal limbs extended from the pack he had on his back, raising him off of the ground. The four extensions began to climb the brick wall next to him. Once he reached a sizeable height, he paused and drew out a pair of binoculars as he scanned the surrounding streets.

"Now we wait." Mammoth drew back further into the shadows of the alley.

"Raven won't know what hit her." Jinx purred as she smiled maliciously.

_- In all that we do let us do it for love -  
_

The alarm began to blare loudly, as Raven entered the kitchen. She sighed and turned towards the living room. "There goes my breakfast." She mumbled to herself.

When she entered the living room, she blinked. Cyborg was talking to Beast Boy and Starfire, who kept throwing worried glances at Robin. Robin was currently standing against the wall with a scowl on his face as he glared daggers into the back of Cyborg's head. If looks could kill, Cyborg would have been dead sixty years before he was born and twenty times over. Yeah that's how pissed the young leader was.

"What's going on?"

All eyes turned to her and Cyborg sighed. "Robin's a bit upset because I won't allow him to come with us on this next mission."

"You have no plausible reason to make me stay!" Robin declared hotly as he crossed his arms almost childishly across his chest.

"Besides." He muttered to himself rebelliously. "It's my team."

Raven almost expected him to stomp his feet and pout like a petulant child.

"Oh yes I do! How will we know if you will be able to fight adequately if you're infatuated with Raven!" Cyborg tried to reason, his voice raising despite his efforts to keep under control.

Raven silently agreed with him. Robin could not afford to be distracted by her when they were in the field. Nevertheless, that had some problems in itself.

Robin knew his metallic friend was right but he didn't have to like it. He sulked some more.

When the alarm had blared, he almost jumped for joy. There was nothing like beating in the faces of a couple of thugs to release pent up tension. But now he had to stay while everyone else had fun.

So _not_ cool.

Raven injected her own problems with that idea. "Robin can't venture very far from me."

When all eyes turned back to her, she shrugged. "It's a part of this stupid curse." It wasn't meant to be a curse but that was certainly how it felt to her.

"Not with out him feeling some kind of retribution. All the way across town is too far."

Robin began to feel hopeful. This was good. This was very good. If Raven went then he had to go.

Cyborg sighed. "Then Raven…I'm sorry you can't go either."

Both of the birds' mouths dropped. "What?"

Raven shook her head. "Then we're sending the team out missing two members. If you haven't noticed, there are only five of us to begin with!"

"Yeah I know and I'm sorry. But we can't risk it. If we need help we'll call you guys." Cyborg declared firmly, his tone final.

Starfire glanced at the two shocked birds worriedly. "Maybe I should stay and make sure everything is…okay."

Cyborg shook his head. "Not having Robin and Raven will already hurt the team. We can't afford to leave anyone else behind if we can help it. Now, move out Titans."

Beast Boy and Cyborg walked out the door but Starfire lingered a bit before following the other two, a blank expression on her face.

Robin was still grumbling to himself about Cyborg and none of it was very flattering.

Raven sighed and walked out of the room, leaving Robin to his childish grumbling. Once again they were left without a chaperone. They were old enough to do without one of course, but with this spell and Raven not being sure of her feelings for the Boy Wonder anymore, being alone with said person was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially after her last lapse of control and the ensuing results.

"Hey Raven!" She sighed and paused, allowing Robin to catch up.

"What?" She asked, her eyes going to him.

"Nothing." He flashed her a charming smile before lacing their fingers together.

Her eyes flickered from his face to their joined hands. She seriously considered tearing off his hand but it had been hours since they last had physical contact so she dismissed it with a shake of her head. That was another thing that pissed her off. The spell required them to touch although she didn't want to be forced to touch someone if she didn't want to. She sure as hell wasn't use to it and didn't want to become use to it.

"You know," He started amiably. "I can remember there being a time when you would have torn my arm off for even thinking about doing this. Is it possible that you're beginning to tolerate me?"

Raven rolled her eyes at the absurd question. "I woke up this morning with you in my bed and you walked out of my room alive. I think that speaks for itself." She intoned dryly.

"What? Was I suppose to walk out dead?" He quipped.

Raven groaned. Sometimes Robin's sense of humor was really too much. "Cardiac, you're under arrest." Raven wasn't sure if that was intentional or a mistake but her own sense of humor still hasn't forgiven him for that one. "It's too early for that Robin."

"What about later?"

Raven briefly entertained the thought of slapping him or perhaps thrusting him into the another dimension but her quietly, growling stomach soon garnered all of her attention. She had forgotten about breakfast. "I'll think about it after I get something to eat."

Robin grinned at the dark beauty walking next to him. "No problem! I've learned from the best!" His thoughts flicked briefly to Alfred, his former butler and friend.

Raven grimaced. What was she getting herself into?

**§§§§**

**ravenslair:** Thanks, and I promise that I'll get to Hell's fury soon. Scouts honor!

**Delirium24:**: Glad you thought so.

**Firwilwarin:** Thanks for the review and your answer is in the A/N at the beginning!

**Chica De Los Ojos Café: **Of course as always, I loved your review and it made me smile! This is not as quick as my last update but I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

**Evilsangel:** Thanxs! Now don't forget to review!

**BlackEmbers:** What? No, your last review wasn't harsh at all. I thought I was agreeing with you.

Anywho, thanks for the review!

**Cherry Jade:** What's up CJ, how's it hanging? Oooooh you're going to work on Wish? Well then hurry the hell up, the suspense is killing me! I love your reviews, I smile every time I read them. I was having a very crappy day on Wednesday but then I read your review and people twenty miles away could see my smile. THANK YOU! Love ya back!

**Miraculasacies: **It's okay, I completely understand. I was just joking around with you. And you're not the only one who didn't understand the irony of 143. It should be in my author's notes at the beginning of the chapter, thanks for reviewing!

**Gilraen R. Luinwe:** Thank you! Better get that homework done, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed that last chapter cuz I had fun writing it!

**BirdsOnTheBrain:** No problem whatsoever, I've enjoined every chapter you've written so far and I sincerely believe that you're a way better writer than myself, I'm not even joking. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Aero:**: Yeah I am. Sorry about that. I will get around to updating, be sure about that. Thanks for the review!

**Ravenrogue19:** Ha, yeah me too. I hope this update wasn't too late. It took me twice as long as last time but, it still has only been five days.

**Violetx3: **Thanks a lot for taking the time to review!

**Iris Night:** Yep and just for you! Lol. Well, for everyone but you're a part of everyone so I guess it's the same. And no problem, I hate that false love crap too. Review!

**Lady Serenity Moon Child:** I know! I had so many different ideas scrambling around in my mentally challenged head that it I basically had to kick myself to keep this fic from never ending or staying to one idea. I do hope you enjoy the plotline I decided to use, and you'll just have to stick around to find out which one. And no more guessing for you…you're waaayyy too close to home for comfort. I want it to be a surprise. Are you psychic!

**Hound Archon: **I laughed when I got to the end of your last review… "keep it real homie." It was so random I cracked up. I never said I was normal and my sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired. My brother was in the same room when I was reading it and I had to explain why I was laughing. I told him that you called me homie and he just looked at me strangely and asked if my braids were too tight. I felt really lame. Anywho, thanks for the laugh and the review.

**Raven-Angel-of-Darkness: **Sorry, I think next chapter or definitely the one after that will be the realization of the fifth person in the love pentagon unless you want to guess. However, your first guess will be the only one that counts. But you do guess right I'll dedicate the next chapter to you…so try your hardest. Thanks for taking the time to check out those stories I suggested. See the A/N at the beginning as for what 143 means.

**Crystaltear CT:** OMG YEAH! I heard about that! I really, really, really hope they don't cancel it! We have to petition, we have to riot, we have to do something! LONG LIVE TEEN TITANS! LLTT! Anywho, your threat made me laugh more than it actually scared me but here's your update anyway. Your review is more than enough to make me get this next chapter up. (although the threats do amuse me so.)

**Alena-chan:** Yeah, Jinx killing Raven is a bit over the top but hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Or something similar to that effect, yes? Anywho, it means a lot to have you actually take the time to review for my story, don't know if I mentioned it before but thanks!

**Bria:** SNCSM! I don't know if I'd shoot you, maybe hog tie you and shove a dirty sock in your mouth, lol. But believe me, Robin wants to jump her…but it's my job as author to tharwt his advances! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! But who knows, maybe I'll slip.

**Pureangel86: **Questions! I enjoy questions because most of the time I can give them either of the following answers. It's either a) read the summary and if it ain't there read my profile. b) I don't know. And c) wait and find out. Your answer is c. Review!

**Sarah:** Honestly, that's what I'm saying! The whole Starfire and Robin angle is so predictable and so absolutely **_boring_**! I mean beautiful, kind princess falls in love with the handsome, brave, strong team leader… Puh-leaze! Give me a freakin' break! Sometimes I think people are so shallow. At least Robin and Raven have something in common. I think of Robin as a deep and complex person, and how deep and complex is Starfire? They would barely be able to hold an intelligent, intricate conversation without her becoming totally confused. Oops, you see what happen when I get distracted? Anywho, thanks for reviewing!

**Monito: **I was just kidding you about before and I don't mind, at least you took the time to review and tell me an inkling of what you thought. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Calda Pesca492:** Ha! I know what you mean! Sometimes when I know I don't have school the next day I'll stay up until like 8 in the morning reading fanfics. My brain is so fried after staying up so long staring at my computer screen that I can't string coherent sentences. I hope you managed to catch up.

**PnayBabyGurl:** Thanks for the review!

**Joe-ashaman:** Hey! Yeah, Jinx and Raven will fight it out but my fighting scenes will be no where near as good as yours were. And I have read the Wheel of Time series, all the way up to book seven but I got bored with them soon after that. There are so many of them and they're all the size of a large encyclopedia. Egwene was my favorite character although I did enjoy Rand's character as well. I guess you're into Sci-fi/Fantasy? I'm absolutely obsessed with them but if the books are too numerous I get bored with the same characters over and over and the plot never seems to end. Have you read the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind or the Sword, the Ring and the Chalice? I like the latter better than the former because there are just too many Sword Of Truth books. I have a short attention span. But lately I've been into the new type of fantasy that's become popular. You know, werewolves, vampires, demons, witches, elves…that type of stuff. I especially love it when they're written in modern times...yep, I'm a total geek. Anywho, I'm rambling right now, so sorry. Drop me a line I guess if you wanna continue this one-sided conversation sometime, lol. Ciao!

**Storiestotell:**: Yeah, you're right about the show. I thought it was a stupid anime wannabe at first but I sat down with my younger brother to watch it and have been hooked ever since. Thanks for the review!

**Amanda:** Hey, my best friend's name is Amanda…just a random bit of trivia for ya from Amber's useless life, lol. Thank you so much for the compliments…makes me feel all warm inside. Hey, if you want me to I could email you when I update, let me know!

**Enkaiame Katana:** Yeah, there will be some fluff in some chapters and no fluff in others. After all the spell isn't all butterflies and fluffballs…it's actually very dangerous as Raven mentioned before. And of course this will have its fair share of drama. Thanks, and stay tuned!

**Sadista:**: Yeah, thanks! Glad to know you thought I've done a good job picking his head! OOOohhh a Robin poem? Cool, I'll check it out when I get a minute. And I love HP but I mostly only read Harry/OC but I'll check it out anyway, just for you. Yep, cuz I just love ya that much.

**Final Fight:** Actually, you're not the first not to know what 143 meant. scratches head No one has mentioned knowing what it meant either. See the A/N at the beginning to find out. Thanks for reviewing!

**BigBlackWoman:** Thank you! The quote is on the bottom of all my chapters unless I forget. Anywho, it's a line from a song by Mariah Carey called –yep, you guessed it- Butterfly. I adore the song and the singer.

**Bunbunlover: **Thanks! I'm glad to find out that you think I'm worthy of both, lol. Cute and raw definitely doesn't go together but I think you're right. Those just might be the words for the last chapter.

**Raerae:** Gracias! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Crzy Grl:** Aww shucks, thanks, I live for reviews like yours.

**Lain the Fluff-Master: **Oh…My…God. IT'S MY LORD AND MASTER! It's been so long! I'm so happy you've reviewed! I'm updating today just for you so feel very, very special. I await your review!

Phew! That was like writing a whole nother chapter! Lol. BUT don't you DARE stop! I love my reviews dammit!

**§§§§**

_Spread your wings and fly…Butterfly_


	4. Dangerous Complications

**A/N: **Hey guys! I've been extremely busy all day and so there are no plugs for today because I want to get this out before tomorrow. And I didn't proofread so if there are any extremely huge mistakes that I may have over looked, let me know so I can fix them! I'm not particularly happy with this chapter and there are a lot of things I hate about it but if you guys like it then I love it. On to the story!

**§§§§**

**Love Potion**

**By: Amber Myst**

**Chapter IV: Dangerous Complications**

**§§§§**

After breakfast, which was surprisingly good, Raven settled down in the living room, a book grasped between her slender hands. Usually she wouldn't read in the living because between Cyborg and Beast Boy's game play and Robin's music, she couldn't concentrate. However, the room was blissfully silent as she opened to her book mark and proceeded to read.

She felt a shift in the couch as Robin settled his weight down right next to her. Raven ignored him in favor of finishing her book. She was so close to the end she could taste it and it was surprising a lot better than she had anticipated. Robin didn't take the hint as he began to squirm next to her, shifting back and forth, in an attempt anyone else would have assumed to become more comfortable. Scoffing silently to herself, shook her head. This couch had to be the most comfortable thing in the whole damned tower. He was obviously trying to get her attention.

When Robin began to sigh dramatically, Raven had to close her eyes to keep from hurting the Boy Wonder.

Once she had better control she opened her amethyst orbs and glared at him. "Yes Robin?" She hissed out between clenched teeth.

He shook his head and sat motionlessly.

Raven rolled her eyes heavenward and with a heavy sigh, flicked them back to her book. A few seconds of silence passed before Robin began to sigh and fidget once more. She shut her book forcefully, the loud, unexpected noise causing him to jump. "I know you have a problem, spill!" She demanded, glaring daggers into the young hero.

"I'm bored." He said simply.

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Raven asked exasperatedly. What was she a clown? Did she have 'baby-sitter' tattooed across her forehead?

"I wanna do something…" He whined slightly, letting his words trail off.

She raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, do you have in mind?"

Robin's eyes lit up wickedly as a cocky smirk crossed his lips. "Well, I was thinking whip cream, chocolate syrup, either your bed or mine…well your bed is bigger than mine and a lot more comfortable too." A frowned marred his lips for a brief moment. "I have no idea why though…I think I got cheated. Well, anyway as I was saying, a Raven sundae-"

Robin's libidinous thoughts were cut short as he was hit in the face with a black pillow. He blinked a few times as the pillow suddenly turned into a dark blue and fell into his lap. It took him a second to realize that it was Raven's powers that turned it black. His gaze passed from the pillow in his lap to her face.

"Only in your wet dreams, Boy Blunder." Raven retorted, her arms crossed under her chest in a contumacious manner.

"Riigght." He drawled confidently.

He was hit with another pillow.

He suddenly brightened as he turned suddenly to Raven. "I say we finish where we left off yesterday."

Raven snorted. "Riigght." She mocked him perfectly. "Not on your life, buddy."

Robin's smile turned into a lecherous smirk as he scooted closer to her on the couch. "Raavvveennn" He sang slowly, dragging out her name as if he were savoring the taste of it on his tongue.

A brief smile of amusement flashed onto her lips as she hastily retreated to the other side of the couch. "Rooobbbbiiinnn." She teased back dangerously. She wondered briefly what in the hell she was doing but didn't really stop to long to dissect her current behavior or the feelings the male sitting next to her evoked unwilling from her.

He suddenly lunged for her, his arms outstretched, reaching for the dark goddess.

Raven shrieked playfully and dived off the couch, landing on the floor as she scrambled away. She picked up two pillows and hurled one at him before fleeing to the other side of the living room. The pillow she threw completed it's purpose, distracting him so he wouldn't lunge for her retreating back.

Hugging the other one to her chest, she watched him warily as he climbed to his feet in a single fluid motion that made her shiver. "Be a good boy and stay!" She murmured playfully, as her eyes sparkled.

Robin laughed, his husky voice sending a chill down Raven's spine. "I thought you knew already."

She frowned slightly, as she braced one hand on her waist. The hand grasping the pillow fell to her side. "Knew what?"

"That I'm not a good boy." He purred as he approached her slowly, almost a slinking motion. He moved like a complacent, confident predator who knew that its prey couldn't get away and so there was no rush.

Raven moved to her left, her eyes flicking towards the doors as she tried desperately to contain her smile.

Robin noticed her gaze and laughed. "You aren't trying to escape now, are you Raven?"

The girl in question snorted. "If I wanted to I'd be gone already." And it was true. If she had wanted to end their little game she would have phased through the floor already. She was actually having fun, not that she would admit that to Robin. Raven bit back the laughter that threatened to rise out of her, even as her eyes danced at him. But if she reached the door, then she could say she won and, of course, hold it over his head for the rest of his days.

Raven watched him closely, waiting for him to spring. The second she noticed his body tensing, she flung the pillow she was clinging to directly at his face. She sprinted to the left and towards the doors, laughing as Robin collided with the wall that she just vacated.

Suddenly, the doors opened to reveal Cyborg and Raven came to a halt immediately, almost falling over, her arms wheeling to keep her on balance. Her face was a picture of complete shock.

Robin was right behind her. His focus was on Raven and he hadn't even noticed Cyborg yet. With triumphant cry, he barreled into Raven, throwing them both forward. Raven gave a small cry of alarm as Robin wrapped his arms around her and they both rolled together, a tangle of limbs. They came to a painful halt when they crashed into Cyborg's metal feet.

Raven grunted slightly as his elbow collided with her rib cage. "Get off of me idiot!" She hissed

at him.

He didn't know why she was complaining, he took most of the bruising from the fall because he instinctively used his body to shield hers. "Why?" He asked, as he hastily moved his elbow from farther hurting her. A throat was cleared above him and he craned his neck up to look into Cyborg's disapproving face.

"That's why!" Raven grumbled as the Boy Wonder got off her. He held out a hand to help her to her feet, which she ignored as she fixed her cloak, mumbling about idiotic, clumsy heroes.

Robin winced as she stomped off. Why was she so pissed anyway?

**§§§§**

Thirties minutes later, after Cyborg gave Robin a 'talkin' to' the whole team met in the living room to brief Robin and Raven on what occurred on their mission.

Raven frowned when Cyborg finished his recollections of the battle with HIVE. Apparently, the villains in question were in the process of robbing a small, local deli. That seemed odd on so many different levels. Why would they rob a small deli, that probably had no more than a few hundred in the cash register? That's if they were even after the money. When the Titans had arrived, they were ambushed by the three teens, the cash register was completely untouched.

There wasn't even a lot of damage, just the alarm was tripped.

"I think they were just trying to lure us out, but for what?" Raven thought aloud.

Robin's face was thoughtful as he tried to piece together the puzzle. "Well, didn't the HIVE members leave after the first few minutes of battle?"

Beast Boy scratched his head in confusion. "Yeah, we arrived, and we fought and then they just left. I mean, we weren't even at full power. I would have thought they would take full advantage of the fact that we were equal."

BB's statement just gave Raven an idea. "Well, I think I know why they lured us out." Raven started slowly as she thought.

All eyes turned to her. "Continue."

"I think that they wanted either me or Robin, and when we didn't show they had no reason to stay." Raven explained.

Robin smiled. He knew there was a reason he liked Raven other than her obviously hot body. She was damned smart…oh and the spell of course, a pivotal fact he kept forgetting. "That makes perfect sense. The question is, what the hell did they want us for?"

Raven shook her head. "Maybe not me but you Robin. Jinx probably wanted to give you the antidote so she could try again."

"Why does Jinx not perform the spell once more?" Starfire questioned.

"Because it's a one spell at a time deal. The spell is still in effect and can't be altered by any othermagic, even if it's the same." Raven exclaimed. "She'd have to administer the antidote before she couldperform the spell again."

"Sooo what does this mean?" Beast Boy questioned.

"Maybe we can use Robin as bait so Jinx can give him the antidote?" Cyborg suggested.

Raven shook her head. "This time Jinx will be prepared. If she gives him the antidote then she'll probably have the spell ready for a second go and might actually succeed."

"Okay…dudes, the answer is simple." Beast Boy concluded, a wide smile spreading itself across his face. He was a bit giddy because he finally had the solution to something that stumped even Cyborg, Raven and Robin.

A few seconds of silence passed before Raven grew impatient of the changeling's shenanigans. "Yes Beast Boy?" She demanded.

The shape shifter shook his head as if emerging from a stupor, his silly facade diminishing somewhat to take on a more serious tone. "Sorry, just savoring the moment. I mean, I actually know the answer to something none of you do! This is definitely a Kodak moment."

He sighed as he continued to bask for a few more minutes in this knowledge and his new found intelligence.

A growl from Raven informed him he had only a few minutes to either tell or die. He decided that he wanted to live long enough to reveal his plan. "Well, we can have Jinx give him the antidotey thingie and as soon as she does Raven here can transport him to safety. Duh…"

There was a few seconds of silence before a chorus of 'duh', 'most certainly' and a sarcastic 'remarkable', to which BB replied, 'shove it Raven', rang out.

"Even an idiot could have figured that one out." Cyborg remarked.

"Thank you…" Beast Boy beamed before he realized it was an insult. His self satisfying smile soon morphed into a frown. "Your jealously is soooo transparent."

"It seems he does has somewhat of a brain." Raven ignored the glare shot her way by Beast Boy. "I was truly beginning to doubt that.

"However, that does not solve the problem, but only postpones it."

Robin had been quiet the entire time while they were discussing how to . "Do I get an opinion?"

Everyone turned to him. "I don't really want the antidote." He voiced stubbornly.

"Surely you do not mean that Robin." Starfire tried to reason with him, her heart crashing to her feet. She actually had to chance to get her boy and he did not want it?

"Yes I do." Robin declared. At the moment he was completely happy with the way things were. His chest clenched as he thought of not loving Raven. He didn't want that. She completed him and he sure as hell didn't want to give her up. He would fight anyone who tried to take her away from him or vice versa.

At that point he realized that the spell was talking now but he couldn't help how he felt. He tried to reason with himself but he couldn't' see the light. Life without Raven just didn't seem worth living. It sure as hell wasn't logical.

Raven studied him intently for a moment; her large, amethyst eyes peered straight into his soul and seemed to sense his inner turmoil. She stood and turned to Cyborg. "Ask him again once Ileave."

Robin began to protest, to say that it wouldn't make a difference whether she was in the room or not. And quite frankly, he didn't want to let her out of his sight. But in his mind he knew that he couldn't think of anything other than Raven when she was in the same room as himself. Maybe if she left, his head would clear up a bit. His heart still argued that it wouldn't make a difference in how he felt but his logic thought that maybe it would help his mind reason with his heart.

He watched until her cloak disappeared through the door before sighing deeply. "I'm willing to try." He said after a few minutes of thinking without Raven's presence overwhelming him. He felt his heart skip several beats and his hand flew to his chest. He gritted his teeth as a sudden wave of pain washed over him, completely drowning him under the choppy, vengeful waves. What the fuck? He thought wildly, his breathing coming in short pants as his lungs seized.

"Raven." He barely hissed the words out past the pain before he blacked out and fell from the couch.

"ROBIN!" Starfire screamed going to him, her face stricken.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he scrambled over to Robin's side. "What in the hell just happened?"

"RA-" Cyborg didn't even finish the sentence before Raven phased thorough the floor.

She knelt next to him on the floor and pulled his head into her lap as she called his name.

"Robin." She said exigently, as she shook him. Her fingers were moving almost frantically about his face and head as she checked his breathing and pulse.

"He is not breathing!" Starfire said hysterically, the tears already starting.

Raven didn't waste any time as she engulfed them in her black aura and transported them to her room. They ended up in the middle of her bed in the same position they left in. She quickly removed his head from her lap, and stretched out on top of the comatose Boy Wonder, twining her legs with his and wrapping her arms around him.

"Wake up, please." She murmured desperately, her voice catching in her throat. She could feel tears stinging at the back of her eyes and an itching sensation at the back of her throat. He couldn't die. She couldn't lose him now, not like this. "Please." She whispered again as she buried her face into his unmoving chest. She slid down his body a bit to make her position more comfortable because they were the same height.

'WAKE UP!' She willed forcefully.

Reading the spell book had informed her that if he were to ever reject the spell that she had to get as close to him as physically possible. It was almost as if she had to assure the spell that she was right there and he hadn't violated it. She hadn't know him voicing his opinions would be seen as rejecting it. It was one of this reasons it was so damned dangerous. It was then that she realized that this spell simply didn't make Robin fall in love or it's victim fall in love, they were made into slaves…property.

Tears started to slip unnoticed from her wide eyes before his body gave a shudder. He chest heaved as his eyes shot wide open and he gasped desperately for precious air. Raven sat up instantly, straddling him. She smiled in relief as she resisted the urge to throw her arms around him. A few more tears slipped down her cheeks but she ignored them. He was okay and that was all that mattered at the moment.

He coughed harshly, as his body shook. Once the spasms stopped he look into Raven's tearful face and reached up, gently wiping away her tears with of his thumb, cupping her face in the palm of his hand.

"I'm okay, Raven please don't cry." He said gently, his voice hoarse as he gave her a weak smile. Seeing Raven's tears broke his heart.

Raven turned her face into his hand before attempting a small smile to make him feel better. She took a deep, shaky breath as she berated herself. 'Get it together, jeesh. You're strong than this Raven!'

"That's my girl."

'Fuck it.' That was the last straw before she completely broke down. Collapsing against him, she molded her whole body against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her shoulders trembled with the force of her sobs. Robin placed one hand on her waist as he used the other to rub her back in soothing, circular motions. "Shhh. Please don't cry." He pleaded. He couldn't stand it when females cried, but seeing Raven's tears was just too much for him to handle.

"I'm sorry." She hiccuped. "I almost killed you. I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about?" He frowned as his eyebrows knitted together in anger and confusion. He angry that she would actually say something like that and confused as to why she would say it in the first place.

"If I hadn't left and made you answer that stupid question then none of that would have happened. I didn't know the spell would have reacted so negatively."

"I chose to answer that question, Raven none of it is your fault." He reasoned with her as he moved his hand to stroke her soft hair. "Don't blame yourself."

"I don't even know why I'm being so hysterical." She admitted foolishly. Lately, it seemed as if she was having more and more trouble reining in her emotions and wondered it the spell was responsible. "But then again it probably had something to do with me almost killing you."

"Raven." He said sternly.

"Ok." She acquiesed. "I won't blame myself…in front of you."

Robin sighed. That was probably the best he was going to get anyway. "I'm dead tired." Heyawned as if to prove his point.

"I'll leave then." Raven said as she moved to go, but his hand was pressed firmly against the small of her back.

"Stay. Please." He implored as his eyes began to drift close. Apparently, nearly dying had a somnolent effect on him.

She wanted to stay but the others would be worried. Hell, she would have wanted someone else to tell her immediately. Immediate pain and torture would have awaited anyone who had decided to imprudently delay such information.

He seemed to read her mind. "Tell them I'm alive later." He joked slightly.

She wrestled with herself just a bit more before giving in. "That wasn't even remotely funny!" She hissed at him, her heart jerking painfully in her chest at the notion of him being dead.

"Sorry." He mumbled before his eyes closed completely. "Can I have a good night kiss?"

After a moments hesitation, Raven pressed her lips to his gently for a few seconds. "Now sleep." She demanded as she placed her head against his chest.

He smiled, mumbling his thanks as he tightened his arms around her. His hands lifted up to his face, their mission to remove his mask but gentle hands stopped their progress. He looked down into Raven's eyes, confused. She shook her head, her hair a whisper against her face. "What? It's itching." He complained as he raised a eyebrow in a silent question.

"No…your identity is one of your biggest secrets. You don't have to take off your mask and I don't want you to. I…" She paused as she thought of a way to phrase her next sentence so that he would understand. She finally settled for a question. "Would you show your identity to Cyborg?"

Robin shook his head. "It's not like I don't trust him, I do trust him and all my teammates but its just that…I've kept it a secret for-"

Raven smiled as she interrupted him. "Then why show me?"

"…I didn't even think about it. I just feel…different around you, that's all. I lo-"

The dark empath shook her head. "You don't and don't argue with me about this. Under normal circumstances you would have never shown me and I don't deserve to know one of your deepest secrets. That privelege should be given when you are ready to show us, or to someone you trust and to someone you _truly_ love beyond a shadow of a doubt. That person's not me…and if-when", she sternly corrected herself. "When we find the antidote to this spell, it still will never be me."

Robin could detect a undertone of emotion in her voice but he couldn't decipher it and he dismissed it as he sulked. He opened his mouth, a debate waiting in the gaping depths.

Raven smiled, a forlorn twist of her lips, "Now sleep Robin." Before he could even speak, she kissed him with all she had, erasing his previous thoughts and argument with a strategic flick of her tongue and a well-placed caress. "Sleep." She murmured against his lips, her tongue sneaking out for a brief lick.

"What was I going to say?" He muttered sleepily and Raven laughed delightedly. He sighed blissfully before dropping off completely, Raven close behind him.

**§§§§**

Raven had been asleep for barely five minutes before loud, forceful pounding interrupted her brief sleep. She quickly slid from the bed, careful not to disturb the slumbering teen in it.

"I swear if they wake him up…" She mumbled, leaving the sentence unfinished. Robin needed his rest. She opened the door hastily, revealing Starfire's tear-streaked face.

Raven's anger swiftly vanished as she slipped through the door, letting it slid shut behind her. "He's okay Star." She enveloped the hysterical alien in her arms. Starfire suddenly went rigid as her tears stopped flowing. Raven didn't know if it was because it was shocking to see the dark empath voluntarily hug another person or if it was for some other mysterious reason.

"Can we see him?" Starfire mumbled hopefully from where her face was buried against Raven shoulder.

Raven shook her head. "He's resting right now. But I'll tell him that you guys want to see him when he wakes up."

Starfire pulled away from Raven's embrace and lowered her head, red bangs hiding her eyes. She seemed to struggle with herself for a second before she turned away. "Okay." She whispered almost brokenly, her voice cracking with the threat of more tears. "I shall await his awakening."

"Star." It hurt Raven to see that look on her best and only girlfriend's face. It was really tearing Starfire apart inside that Robin didn't return her affections anymore. Raven knew it wasn't her fault but she couldn't help but feel guilty. "Well, maybe you can stay with him the night and I'll sleep on the couch or something?" Raven offered. It was the best she could do to.

Starfire brightened instantly before sobering. "I do not wish to inconvenience you Raven."

Raven took a deep breath as she tried to ignore the pangs in her chest. It took her a few seconds to retain her orientation and to realize that Starfire made a comment to which she snorted and said. "I wouldn't have offered if I felt 'inconvenienced' Starfire." Why was she reacting this way! Robin spending the night with another female should not evoke such feelings within her.

"Alright then." She flashed Raven a grateful smile. "You may slumber in my room for the night if you wish Raven."

Raven shook her head as she suppressed a shudder. "That's way too much pink for me. I'll use one of the spare bedrooms we have around here or perhaps the couch. Don't worry."

"Okay, I wish you a well night friend Raven." Starfire gave Raven a crushing, suffocating hug before disappearing through Raven's door, closing it behind her.

Raven sighed as she touched her bruised ribs gingerly. The thing she did for her friends. So now she was bedless. She turned to Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"I'll get you some blankets Raven. That was a nice thing you did for Starfire." Cyborg smiled as he turned to walk down the hallway.

Raven shrugged. She was emotionally impaired sometimes, not evil.

"I'll get the pillows!" Beast Boy ran off towards his room, as Raven yelled after him.

"I DON'T WANT YOURS! YOU DROOL IN YOUR SLEEP!"

"I DO NOT!"

**§§§§**

**Final Fight:** Okay, virtual cookies for you then!

**Raerob4ever:** Thanks! 

**Cherry Jade:** Are you kidding! You could _never_ ever bore me, not if you tried. Wish's update was awesome! I loved all of it, you never have to worry about that. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, seeing your review always makes posting the chapter worthwhile. So, I'm just waiting for your review and an update would be even better, ciao!

**CrystaltearCT:** Here's your update, paid in full, lol. Yeah, I'm going to go do that too, good suggestion.

**Crzy Grl:** Thxs! To be honest, that first thing was added as I was proof reading the chapter after I had uploaded it to the site. I figured I needed to add something humorous, I'm happy you approved and thought it was funny.

**Chica De Los Ojos Café:** Yup, this chapter is pretty long too. I think it's even a bit longer than the last one but don't quote me on that one. I don't know those kind of things, after all I'm only the author.

**Ravenrogue19:** Here's your update, I'm glad you like my fic!

**Miraculasacies:** Yeah, who would have ever thunk it? Anywho, I get the love proverbs off of a website called, heart quotes. My favorite one so far is "Love is fire. But whether it's gonna warm your heart or burn your house down you can never tell." No love quotes this time around, I wanted to actually update on the 25th.

**Delirium24:** Ohh, more than four words, I feel special! Don't wanna keep you waiting so here's that update!

**Loner of shadows:** You have a story? Oooo I'll have to check it out now, and I'm glad to have been a help and that I made you laugh!

**Enkaiame Katana:** Aw, shucks, thanks! And you're completely right, Raven _doesn't_ know how lucky she is…I'm planning on having Robin convince her very soon…

**Iris Night:** Omg, I know that song! For the last few weeks I've had exactly that part stuck in my head and my friends are ready to murder me because every few minutes it's, "I love you, I love you, I love yoouuu!" Lol, it's funny that you picked that song. Anywho, I'm glad you approved.

**Pureangel86:** Yeah, but I figured it would have seemed awkward for him to be wearing underwear with his own face on them, talk about ego-manic and I personally don't like tighty-whities, they turn me off. So Batman underwear made the cut off.

**Hound Archon:** Ack! I wouldn't know how much driving my friends around would suck because my ultra evil mother _still_ hasn't let me behind the wheel of the car yet. She says she's not ready, not _mentally_ nor emotionally. And so I told her if she was waiting for that then she would never be ready…then she gave me a really pointed look and I slunk away with my tail between my legs. Yeah, I'm a coward but I do bug her weekly. But I'm really mad. I'm almost seventeen for cripes sake! That EVIL MONKEY!

**BugBlackWoman:** Oh geesh, don't get me started on MC, we would be here all day! I'm glad my fic has amused you.

**Sadista:** Good, I'd rather you be on chocolate than pot any day! Long review, lol. I hope it didn't take you too long. Well, no matter how long it took, I appreciate the time that you took to leave little ol' me a review. Here you go, every four days, as promised!

**Alena-chan:** Thanks, I'm glad you liked basically everything about the chapter. And you don't even have to thank me about mentioning your story, after all I said that I was going to mention the best stories and yours is one of the best on this site. Well, looking forward you your next review!

**BirdsOnTheBrain:** Oh, don't even mention it, I'm just happy you've found the time to review at all. I hope you liked this chapter, I'm not too happy with it, but shrugs as long as it makes you happy I can't even begin to complain.

**CrimsonCape:** Gracias! Here's that next update.

**Aero-The Girl from Nevermore:** Oh, that's cool! Are you actually going to start posting fiction? Well if or when you do, let me know and I'll be among the first to review!

**Rae rae:** Thank you!

**Tecna:** Here's that update you wanted! Thanks for all the compliments! I've read your profile and I completely agree. Nothing pisses me off more than pairing flamers. God, people like them need to seriously reevaluate their own, pathetic, usually worthless lives and realize that people have the right to write fiction about whatever they want without bigots like them flaming the hell out of them. Honestly. But you know what? I've noticed that Star and Rob fans are a lot more bitchy than Rae/Rob fans although I'm sure there are flamers for every pairing. I'd just like to think that we're a lot more mature, .

**Bria:** Wat up Bria? I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and I'm pretty much going to keep the whole damned team pretty much busy and out of the tower. Yeah, I like cocky Robin too, lol.

**Monito:** Yeah, I know he is a bit annoying but he can't help it, he's in "love" and giddy. People act like complete idiots and can't help it when in the presence of the one they adore.

**Robin and Raven 4E:** You don't have to worry about me giving up anytime soon. Here's that update.

**The Blackest Darkness:** Thanks!

**Gilraen R. Luinwe:** Yup! I can't not add humor to a fic. I'm having trouble keeping the tone serious

enough but I'm glad you don't find it to be a problem. Loved your review and can't wait for the next. Hopefully this chapter was both serious and humorous.

**Evilsangel:** Lol, . Thanks!

**PnayBabyGurl:** Yep, you called it! Starfire's going to 'explode' next chapter.

**Blue-demongirl:** Gracias! Optimistamente, Usted no pensó que la espera era larga.

**Lilchishorty:** Glad you thought so.

**Raven-Angel-of-Darkness:** Yep, I hope this chapter was surprising because I enjoy catching people off guard. I do try to make my stories interesting so that there is never a dull moment but also believable so everyone's not like, wtfh! Here's the installment that I promised.

**Storiestotell:** Thanks Rachel! I hope you thought the same of this chapter.

**ObsessedWithFire:** Same here, I adore the couple as well and Raven is my favorite too. Glad you areenjoying my story so far.

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you all!**

**§§§§**

_Spread your wings and fly…Butterfly_


	5. Heart Ache

**A/N:** You guys have nooo freakin' clue of how _hectic_ my life has become thanks to my much hated English teacher. I'm not looking for forgiveness from everyone but the only reason I'm updating today is because I stayed home from school. That's the _only_ reason. Last Friday I had four tests, and a huge English test on Thursday, making that two English tests in a row. Not only that but I had English vocabulary due on Tuesday,5 exercises/ 50 questions, and 66definitions due on that same Friday for, guess what, my English class. That was just my English homework, not to mention the five tests I had to study for and other homework for the rest of my classes. Did I mentioned that I had joined the bowling team? Yeah, last week I had practice on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and had a game on Thursday. I'm not trying to give you guys a sad story or anything like that but all this has been my life for the past week or so. Luckily, I didn't have to work at all that week because if I had then I don't know how I would have done it all.

On to my _fabulous _weekend (note the sarcasm). Well, on Friday, I went to my school's talent show because my English teacher was the one who organized it and therefore, she offered extra credit to anyone who had gone. SO I went to that from 6:30 pm to 9:15 pm. I spent all of Saturday cleaning my room because my mom made it clear that I couldn't do anything until it was cleaned. That took a couple of hours because I share a room with my littler sister and she is less than cooperative. I spent most of Sunday with my mom, we went shopping sort of, I wanted some new books. I don't know why, because I don't have anytime to read them, but there you go. I came home, did my homework, and dropped like a rock. Monday comes along and I find out from my hell-spawned English that we have this outrageous project due next Tuesday that needs a hell of a lot of research and has to be anywhere from 6 to 8 pages long. I really do hate that women, despise her with a passion! She seems to forget that we have other classes and doesn't understand that English isn't the most important thing in our lives. It's a foreign concept to her. She claims that the renaissance project is A.P.(college) level. I wanted to shoot her face off. I felt like screaming that if I wanted AP level work then I would have signed up for AP English and not Honors. If I have to do AP work then I might as well get AP credits. I'm going to make my report 15 pages long and hope she enjoys grading every fucking inch.

**A/N II: **But enough about how much I hate that woman…on to something relevant. Just because someone decided that making my life miserable seemed fun, some freakin' genius at decided that responding to reviews in chapters is now forbidden. I felt like crying because all of my faithful reviewers know that it's my favorite part of being an author. So no more of that (cries). This chapter is, unfortunately, disgustingly short but I have revealed the next person in the love-shape thingie I have going on. So, on that note, all you people enjoy, maybe your reviews will help cheer me up some.

**A/N III: VERY IMPORTANT! My computer at home has crashed and the only way I'm sending this letter out is at the library. Sorry to all those who are patiently awaiting the next chapter. I have a friend who will try to fix the problem as soon as he can. Please be patient a little longer. Thank you all.**

**Plugs for this chapter are:**

**Before Sunrise** by **Alena-chan**. Really excellent one-shot friendship/angsty thingie between Speedy/Arsenal and Raven. Gotta love all of her work.

And for all the Batman Beyond, Terry/Max fans out there, then **On The Catwalk **is the fic for you by **Kyoko Kasshu Minamino**. It's really, really hilarious and extremely cute. Now go.

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it was the only thing that brought a smile to my face last week.**

**§§§**

**Love Potion**

**By: Amber Myst **

**Chapter five: Heart Ache**

**§§§**

Starfire smiled as she rolled over in her sleep, expecting to see Robin's peacefully slumbering face.

She was met with Raven's empty dark silk sheets and shot up immediately. Looking around wildly, she stumbled from the bed, dragging the sheets with her. "Robin?" She called out, her soprano tones darkened with worry and bafflement flashed brightly in her eyes.

She paused as she took several deep, calming breaths. Her eyes glanced towards the clock on Raven's bedside table and the time read 11:32 a.m. "No need to worry." She assured herself aloud. "Perhaps he has already risen for the day and is in the room of bathing."

She floated towards the door and out into the hallway. Passing the bathroom, which was silent, and continuing through the tower she began to worry somewhat. After checking Robin's room and the kitchen, she ventured into the living room.

Hearing soft, rhythmic breathing coming from the couch and being the naturally inquisitive alien that she was, she went to investigate. 'Maybe friend Raven will know where Robin is.'

She stopped dead in her tracks as she rounded the couch, a hand flying to her mouth. There on the couch was Raven and squeezed tightly behind her was Robin. Tears brimmed her vision as she dashed them away angrily. Fury seethed under the surface of her normally jubilant face. She knew from experience that her eyes were glowing a furious emerald, bright with unshed tears and almost uncontrollable anger.

"Raven?" The name slipped through her lips as she questioned the dark girl currently snuggling with the one _she_ loved.

Almost as if she heard the plea in her sleep, Raven eyes opened slowly. The first thing she was aware of was being warm and held tightly.

She turned slightly in the warm embrace, and smiled as she saw Robin's face. Waking up to his face first thing in the morning wasn't the worst thing in the world she could do. She shook her head in disgust. What in the hell was she thinking? 'This is only temporary, remember that Raven.' She admonished herself.

She sighed as she turned so she was no longer facing the Boy Wonder and froze. "Starfire."

The alien didn't say anything, she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself or her actions if they presently got into a confrontation, and so she turned and fled the incriminating scene.

Raven pushed at Robin's chest to free herself but she underestimated his grasp on her. She grunted slightly as they both tumbled off the narrow couch and hit the floor. Robin jolted awake, disorientated from his abrupt awakening. He looked down at the dark girl trapped beneath him with a bewildered look upon his face.

"Move." Raven hissed at him, pushing at his chest once more. Why did she always manage to end up under him?

"Why?" He muttered sleepily, although an audacious smile was creeping its way across his face. "I'm comfy."

Raven sighed impatiently as a feeling of deja vu washed over her. The dark girl didn't bother with a reply as she pushed at his chest with abnormal strength and deposited him roughly beside her, ignoring his grunt.

She didn't even pass him a second glance as she climbed to her feet and pursued Starfire. She couldn't let that be the last thing Starfire saw without explaining why Robin was sleeping with her in the first place. Hell, even she wasn't completely sure. The only thing she could recall was Robin falling onto the couch next to her sometime during the night and being too exhausted and trapped within the realm of sleep to be concerned or to protest. Raven caught her as she turned to go into her room. "Starfire, wait!"

Starfire whirled around, anger and passion flaring wildly in her brightly glowing eyes. "Why? So you can further crush my heart and misuse my trust!"

Raven withered slightly under her fierce gaze. "Star…this is out of my control. I would never ever intentionally hurt you. I was not the one who cast that spell Starfire. You think you are the only one who is effected?" Raven felt her guilt burn away under self-righteous anger. As if she wanted this! She would have no sooner cast that wretched spell than date Beast Boy. So what if she and Robin were sleeping in the same bed together? They weren't doing anything and even if they were it was sure as hell none of her business!

Starfire didn't relent under Raven's reason and believed her anger was justly placed. How could Raven do something like that to her after telling her that she could have Robin? Okay, she didn't proclaim that is so many words, but why let her spend the night watching over Robin. "Does the spell require you sleep together? You know my feelings for Robin and yet you continue!"

"YES IT DOES DAMNIT!" Raven's anger began to spiral out of control. She shouldn't have to defend her relationship with Robin, nor prove anything to anyone! She suddenly deflated, as she stopped, bewildered. "What relationship?" She murmured aloud, confused. Her and Robin were not an item. They just touched and slept together…out of necessity. Right…necessity.

Starfire stopped her tirade as she glowered down at her female companion. Raven had suddenly gone quiet and completely still. "Starfire…I have to go." Raven uttered strangely as she glided past the confused alien.

Something was not quite right…and Raven was hoping maybe the book she found the spell in would hold some answers.

"I am not finished with you friend Raven." Starfire spat out the word 'friend' scathingly.

"It's not all about you." Raven replied with just as much heat, not sparing the alien a single glance as she continued along the hallway. She soon arrived at the door of her room and entered her dark sanctuary. She quickly summoned to her the dark tome she was reading only the day before and flipped through it's yellowed pages until she reached the page she was searching for. Staring at the page, she carefully reread it aloud, skipping any incantations that might have been triggered by being spoken into the air. While reading, she had placed herself upon her bed.

When she reached the bottom, she continued to stare at it, nonplussed. Was she missing something? Why was she feeling emotions that couldn't possibly be her own? She stared at the page for so long, that if she had closed her eyes she would have still seen the image burned onto the insides of her eyelids.

She reread it again, this time pouring intently over the pages. There had to be something that she was missing. She soon reached the last sentence and realized that it ended abruptly. Her eyes shot down to the page number and when she glanced to the next page it went from '143' to '146'.

"I'm missing a page?" She said incredulously.

"God must hate me." She muttered mutinously as she thought over the situation. Was the page lost forever or maybe it was lodged in the book somewhere?

She shook her head; she threw the book yesterday. If it was there before it wasn't-. She jumped up immediately, faltering slightly in her haste to get to where the book had landed the day before. She scouted around a bit before falling to her knees to peer under her dresser. Her eyes spotted a wrinkled piece of paper and snatched it up with a small cry of triumphant before scanning it. When she had stumbled a cross a warning near the bottom she read it aloud.

"Warning, do not mix the casting of this spell with any other type of magic, as the spell might not work as intended, or have unsavory results."

Oh shit. Hadn't she just tried to save Robin by using her own brand of magic to weaken the effects? Shit, shit, shit! She knew better, had even warned others of the folly of combining magic but she had done it herself, completely forgetting that fundamental rule of magic. So now, she had no idea what it the hell was going on!

"Oh shit."

She was so beat.

**- _It is better to go for someone who loves you, rather than someone who you love_ -**

Jinx sighed miserably as she closed her eyes against the brightly shining sun that blazed above her in the clear sky. It should be illegal for her to feel so horrible on such a beautiful, picturesque day. Birds trilled happily, calling back and forth from the nearby trees of the park she was presently in. Children could be seen playing, laughing merrily as they enjoyed the warmth and soft breezes, filtering in through the trees.

She wanted to hurl.

She felt sick to her stomach thinking about happiness. Thinking about happiness led her to thinking about Robin, the only thing that could make her happy. But once more, her plans were foiled. Why couldn't things ever work out for her? Just once?

Jinx smoothed her brown hair in a self-conscious movement that she had taken to doing when her hair wasn't bound in its trademark pigtails. She fingered the dark locks distastefully, letting them fall lifelessly to brush her shoulders. She hated having to dye her hair. The contacts that obscured the bright pink of her irises itched to high heaven and she was tempted to remove them.

It turns out that the authorities were actually doing their jobs for once and wanted posters of herself and her comrades had been posted all over the city. They had a mile long police record including vandalism, theft, grand theft auto, assault and other various felonies but when they simply trigger the alarm of a local deli, the whole damned police force and population is gung ho. Figures.

While she didn't mind the attention, she wasn't in the mood to participate in a mad dash from the cops. She just felt too heart sick to enjoy it.

"I'm pathetic." She mumbled to herself in disgust as she walked, dragging her feet as she sank even further into the throes of depression. Her mind wandered back to the problem that had so some depressed in the first place. Robin or rather, maybe Raven. How was she supposed to draw her out of hiding? Oh, she knew that Raven was in the Titans Tower and not exactly hiding but she couldn't very well attack the tower now could she. She wasn't stupid enough to try that one again. True, she and her companions had managed to grapple control of the large building before but that was when the Titans were not as unified as they were now. When the team was first created, they were awkward and clumsy, often getting into the way of each other. Now they worked together as smoothly as a well-oiled machine, all the cogs meshing nicely together to create a synchronized, fighting team. She wouldn't even begin to assume that any attempt would be met with success. Not that she lacked confidence in own abilities, she knew she could hold her own. But she was not so blinded by pride or love to try something so foolish on her own. She knew the other male components of her team would be hesitant in helping her but she couldn't justly blame them.

'Hell,' Jinx scowled. She was a villain, what in the hell did she care for justice?

As she walked along, her head lowered but her eyes not focused, she stumbled over a rock, hitting the ground hard. Scraping her hands and knees, her expression darkened. "Stupid rock…"

Jinx trailed off as inspiration struck her with the force of a Mack truck. She knew how to draw Raven out, as well as Robin. She knew that the spell she cast required Raven and Robin to be in close proximity to each other at all times. Remaining stationary, her eyes unfocused as she as tried to recall every nuance of magic she had learned and every fundamental piece of magical information stored in her brain. She also knew that if one of the two participants were not the original casters and the design of the spell was to include the caster, then the spell wasn't as structured, as they were lacking someone who could control it, if it even worked at all. Jinx acknowledge the fact that because Raven held her own magic that she would be afforded some type of control but not as much as herself would have held. The book indicated an antidote but she didn't know how to go about it. The book did not indicate how to solve that particular spell but it mentioned something about the spell itself not being stable; it was impressionable depending on the persons involved. But as she thought back, her brow furrowed slightly. Didn't Raven try to use her own power as well trying to combat the spell?

Jinx concentrated and suddenly laughed gleefully, the sound strained, almost hoarse. She had! Maybe this would make the spell even faultier then. She frowned. On the other hand, it could have strengthened. One could never know; mixing magic had an unknown and unexpected effect on any spell and its participants.

Well, she would worry about that particular detail later. Right now, she had to put her own plan into motion.

"Two birds with one stone." She crooned, as she climbed to her feet and sprinted back to Gizmo, the only teammate she had with her. Mammoth's large size and hairy countenance made him conspicuous.

_**- To love you must be willing to let go, to let go you must be willing to love -**_

Gizmo sighed, as he rubbed fitfully at the contacts covering the whole of his eyes. He knew that if he continued the deleterious action that he could end up cutting his eye but he couldn't control himself. The blasted things itched. Glancing furtively around, he pulled out a pair of black wraparound sunglasses and slipped them onto his face. Under the cover of his glasses, he plucked out the contacts and shoved them quickly into his pocket, blinking his unnatural white, black rimmed eyes in relief. His black tinted vision surveyed the vicinity, as he tried to determine if anyone had seen what had happened.

Jinx would have his ass if she found out.

Jinx…

His heart clenched in his chest and he blinked his eyes rapidly as he convinced himself it was just the wind that was causing his eyes to tear.

She would never return his feelings. He shouldn't be so upset, should have expected it but he couldn't let her go. The way she so blindly pursued Robin made his chest ache and he usually had to clench his fists to keep from striking out in anger. Even though he was schooled by the Hive in all the techniques of deception and hiding treacherous emotions that might be indicative of how he truly felt, he still couldn't manage to keep that sour tone out of his voice or the forlorn expression from tainting his facial features.

He would not deny the specious fact that he looked like a child but the truth was, he was not. His stature may have led others to believe that he was only eight and he did reluctantly acknowledge the fact that calling others 'butt-munching barf brains' wasn't a testimony to a maturity level above the age of seven, but he was fourteen, damnit! Or rather, thirteen going on fourteen, but Jinx was barely two years older than himself! Mammoth was the oldest at nineteen, the same age as Cyborg, he believed. Nevertheless, that was irrelevant.

Never having felt anything like this for another female, he didn't know if his feelings were a crush or love. He had nothing to compare them to, and part of him would do anything to mute the screaming of his heart and soothe the ache he felt in his soul. For something that everyone sought after and died for, love hurt. It hurt so much and he doubted that anything could be worth the searing feeling of not being whole when the one he loved was absent.

But he knew that his thoughts were erroneous. Anything was worth the feeling that bloomed in his chest when she smiled at him or when he made her laugh. Sometimes when she glanced at him with her vivid pink eyes he felt as if he could deny her nothing, all she had to do was ask and it would be hers. He didn't want to sound cliché, but he would bring her the moon just to see the sparkle in her eyes and hear the sweet, soft, melodious sound of his voice grace his ears. He was willing to give her everything but the one thing she truly wanted. Wanting to let her go, but not strong enough to do so, he couldn't even imagine her with Robin. He would die a little inside if she ever did manage to make Robin hers.

He frowned. If someone had told him months ago that he would be behaving like such a love struck, drooling twit, he would have laughed in their face and then pushed them off the highest building in the vicinity.

Maybe Jinx could return his feelings if he informed her of them. Maybe he actually had a chance of winning the girl's affections.

Watching as she sprinted back towards him with a smile on her face and experiencing the erratic fluttering of his heart that usually accompanied her smiling face, he promise himself one thing. He would tell her how he felt as soon as he was given the opportunity.

**§§§**

_Spread your wings and fly…Butterfly_


	6. Annoyances

* * *

YAY! FIRST CHAPTER OF 2006! Happy Belated New Years! And Happy Chinese New Year. 

A few things I want to mention:

You guys don't know how sorry I am. As some of you may already know, my computer crashed several weeks ago and a friend of mine has finally gotten it up and running again. Hallelujah. Okay. Now that that crisis is over, here's another one that I'm sure everyone who is still in school is suffering from. Yes, that's right. Mid-terms. shudders. I'll update as soon as they're over.

I got a few reviews that mentioned that Raven's and Robin's relationship was moving too fast and as I reread everything I wrote I realized that I was indeed writing everything out too quickly. So I decided to rehash a lot of things and flesh it out some more. So what does this mean to you? It means more chapters, and unfortunately longer time in between updates. It's just way too much fun.

Quick answering section which is _not_ the same as responses winks:

§ Jinx has pink hair...if you guys remember I said "She Jinx hated having to dye her hair." as in her hair is normally pink or normally dyed pink but she dyed it brown to avoid drawing attention to herself. Sorry if I confused anyone.

§ Robin ended up in Raven's room because he got up and went there and was so tired that he didn't remember it. It happens to me all the time. Well, err, not that per say but when I fall asleep on the couch in the living room at night and in the morning I'd wake up in my room. I'm not sure if I woke up and went there or if my mom made me get up and go but I don't remember actually getting up and going to my room.

§ Some people have mentioned I need better page breaks than the quotes and so I've broken down and used them.

§ Just for the record, I don't want anyone to see my last chapter as "Star-bashing". I didn't mean it that way, and Raven was actually trying to be nice. Starfire's just jealous and can't really understand what's going on. The alien is very expressive with her emotions, she can't help it. So wouldn't she be just as expressive with jealously as she would with anger and happiness? I mean, I'm not going to make her go psycho and kill Raven, it's just a natural emotion.

Okay, let's go over the relationships, or lack there of. Okay we'll start with Raven.

'-' means likes or loves or expresses a connection

Raven - confused

Robin - Raven

Starfire - Robin

Jinz - Robin

Gizmo - Jinx

Mammoth - Cyborg

Kidding: )

GAH! bangs head against computer screen I just realized I missed a massively huge plot hole but since the whole thing is done I can't rightly go back or forward and change it or anything like that. I am profusely sorry. sighs You guys will just have to suffer with my incompetence. If you don't notice it...just forget I said anything.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, since I can't thank them individually but I love them just the same. I can't express how happy all you guys make me. This chapter is longer than normal, just to make it up to you all for this being so late and for you all being so great. That rhymed! Okay, enjoy!

* * *

Plugs for this chapter are as follows: 

Divine Passion by a_lena-chan_. It's a Robin/Raven/Speedy triangle. Robin's the jealous boyfriend and Raven and Speedy have to share a honeymoon suite in a hotel to try and catch the villains. How can you _not_ read a fic like that?

So Into You by _SweetNCrazieSugarmuffin.A/U. _Another triangle. I really can't get enough of them. This one is a Robin/Raven/Red X triangle. Robin and Raven are best friends and she's in love with him butdoesn't think he'll return her feelings. But then Red X (Chris) comes along and plans on making Raven his. Robin, of course, doesn't like this. Jealously all around!Who will she end up with? Haven't the foggiest. Read, review, and find out

* * *

Love Potion

By: Amber Myst

Chapter 6: Annoyances

* * *

"Raven!" The incessant pounding on the door made her hunch her shoulders in irritation and anger, almost as if to protect her ears from the distressing noise. Was thirty minutes too much to ask? She thought not. She increased the pressure of the water to drown him out. The bathroom was to be a place of peace and privacy but she couldn't even get that small reprieve. 

If he knocked one more damned time…

Knock. "Hurry up!"

"That's it. THAT IS IT!" She mumbled to herself, a woman possessed as she stalked to the bathroom door, taking the time to slip into a robe first. Throwing open the door, red, glowing eyes glared straight ahead into a shocked mask. Her rage-filled gaze slid to the gloved fist ready to pound again and it shot down and behind his back immediately as she moved to grab it and preferably, break it.

Her gaze flitted back towards his face. "What?" The flat tone writhed with dangerous undertones.

Robin took an involuntary step backwards, unaware that he was moving until it was to late to stop it. He barely managed to change it into a casual shift of his weight. 'Shit'. He wasn't afraid of Raven, but he also wasn't stupid, 'a point Raven would probably argue', he thought with a wry twist of his lips. He liked to think off himself as dangerously reckless. And he was wary of the ticked off half-demoness it front of him. Who in their right mind wouldn't be?

But then again, his intelligent couldn't be spoken too highly of. After all, he was the one who pissed her off in the first place. One might question him and his obvious lack of sanity, but of course he knew the hazards of it...he just couldn't seem to resist.

However, the cause of the slight movement didn't evade her and a malicious smile lit up her face. "Are you nervous Robin?" She managed to make her monotone into a throaty purr.

A shudder licked lazily down his spine, his eyes following the same downward direction, but over Raven's still wet form. The robe that she threw on for modesty's sake was short, not even reaching mid-thigh and was plastered to her body, showing her curves clearly and leaving nothing to the imagination. His mouth went dry as he became transfixed by a droplet of sparkling water that trailed down from her neck and disappeared into the open 'v' of her robe, wishing he could follow it's path with more than just his eyes. "No." He said firmly, as he berated himself for his dirty thoughts but unable to redirect his eyes to a much safer area.

"That's too bad." She murmured, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she noticed where his eyes were. "You should be." The mirror behind her shattered into thousands of sharp shards that rained to the tile floor in sparkles of refracted light. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she regarded the male in front of her. She ran a fingernail lightly, the barest of pressure, down the underside of his jaw before cocking her hip, and leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed almost as if she were bored with his antics. He knew better. Raven seemed the picture of calm but it was inescapably clear she was quietly seething beneath the surface. And her still red eyes were more than indicative. "Now, was there something you needed?"

"I wanted," he squeaked, inwardly cursing himself before clearing his voice. Why was he here again? It longer seemed remotely worth it. "I wanted to ask you when you were going to be finished." He knew he signed his own death warrant even before the words left his mouth and he saw her face darken with each passing second.

Robin braced himself for the black, dismembered hand or the blast of power that he knew was coming. Only, nothing knocked him to the ground nor dangled him from the ceiling and he peeked open an eye. Funny, he didn't remember closing them. Standing before him was a livid, bemused Raven who sported a look of pure frustration. So many different emotions shined in her large --now amethyst-- and normally empty eyes that he was amazed before she regained some semblance of control and hid them away again.

He lifted an eyebrow in silent question, the left side of his mask raising to mirror the movement as his wariness took a distant back seat to concern.

"Something wrong Raven?"

The only retort he received was the slamming of the door in his face.

* * *

The first thing Robin did when he entered his room was throw himself onto his bed and bury his face into his pillow. He groaned before flipping himself over to glare wretchedly at the ceiling as if it were possibly the cause of his present dilemma. 

He hated this. Hated it, hated it, hated it. And yet he could do nothing about it.

The last time he had seen Raven was when she glaring daggers at him a few minutes ago and already he felt the absence of her presence like a hole in his heart. A hole that ached and wasn't completely full unless he was with her.

Despite being the leader of the Titans, he was mainly independent. He usually didn't need anyone, rarely asked anyone for help and yet he was forced to depend on Raven for his emotional and physical well being. At the moment, he decided he despised nothing more. Well, except Slade.

He couldn't understand how someone could so willingly could bequeath to someone, a commodity as precious as one's emotions. Especially if not having the receiving person around left the foolish one feeling bereft, lacking common sense, or control of their own feelings.

Knowing Raven was just a few doors away and not being able to see her was apparently two different things when it came to his new emotional sensibilities. He knew for a fact that Raven wasn't not even seconds away and yet he couldn't stem the erratic beating of his heart when she wasn't in his sight nor the feeling of anxiety that was seeping through his body.

He was almost suffocating with the need to be with her.

"Gah!" He sat up immediately, running his hands exasperatedly over his face and then through his tousled hair. He really needed to work off this frustration. Grabbing a towel he was positive he would need, he headed off towards the training room. Time to break a few things, he thought grimly.

* * *

Something was wrong. 

Terribly, terribly wrong.

And of course, as most of her problems these days, it stemmed from the spell.

Meditating, she thought back to that morning. She could remember the mirror behind her in the bathroom shattering after Robin interrupted her. She also remembered the feeling of gathering her energy together to push Robin several yards down the hall. Her intentions weren't to seriously hurt him...too much. But what had really shocked her was the fact that her black tendrils of power went _through_ him. That obviously wasn't suppose to happen and it wasn't really what she was aiming for although the action was definitely _healthier_ for Robin, which led to her own suppositions..

The only explanation she could possibly think of was the fact that the spell clearly stated that any other magic couldn't interfere with the spell. She heaved a big, exasperated sigh. Her powers included.

Brushing her hair back from her eyes, she stood. This made things so much more difficult than they needed to be.

Maybe the fear of retribution would keep Robin in check and to himself? She scoffed. Probably not. But it would be immeasurably better if Robin did _not _know about this. She shuddered at the possibility.

Under normal circumstances, she would just avoid him but then, these weren't normal circumstances and as a matter of fact, she wouldn't even _be_ in this horrid predicament if it wasn't for a stupid, ego-maniac obsessed, teenager who couldn't control her hormones.

She still needed to throughly read through the missing page she had found but she couldn't bring herself to do that at the moment. In fact, she wanted nothing else to do with the spell for the rest of the damned day.

She headed to the roof for some deeper meditation.

* * *

Night fell even faster than Raven expected as she watched the sun set in a fiery display of iridescent colors and brilliant light. Soon the moon declared it's supremacy as the sun slowly faded and the full moon rose to claim the heavens. Pinpoints of light slowly exploded into being as she watched, a gentle warm breeze rustling her hair and clothing around her. She sighed deeply, breathing in the warm, salt-tinted air into her lungs almost greedily. She was uncertain of how long she had been sitting there on the roof but she couldn't summon the energy that accompanied caring. It was the first peace she had been able to find since that horrible Monday. 

Quick calculations informed her that it was Thursday and she shook her head in disbelief. Had it really been just a scant three days ago?

The spell seemed to encompass her entire existence, making it hard for her to believe that such a pithy amount of time had passed when she was so confused.

It been hours since she had seen Robin and she couldn't push away the slight concern that she felt, but she did manage bury it beneath the peacefulness that claimed her. Although she was worried, she wouldn't let it ruin her current mood and she reasoned that when Robin needed her he would come and until then, she really didn't need to worry.

A small frown marred her countenance as she became angry with herself. It shouldn't matter where he was! She really shouldn't care about his whereabouts, as long as he wasn't bothering her. However the feelings of anger soon melted away and she sighed. Of course she was worried. Despite the hatred she felt for the spell and the roles they were thrust into because of it, he was still her friend and she still cared about him...no matter how much he annoyed her and how many times she wished him into the seven depths of hell.

And that whole thing the other day with Robin almost dying and her becoming all mushy and stuff well, he _did _almost die and it _was_ entirely her fault so she felt she was entitled to a bout of crying and mushiness. She shook her head in disgust.

God help her.

Her eyes narrowed. She would try to make sure that never happened again. It was...weird, to put it in a term that she understood, and part of her wanted to do it again while a larger part was completely appalled. Robin was attractive. Yes, she could admit that without hating herself completely. After all, she would have to be blind and not female not to notice it. And yes she kissed him back a couple of times but when he pressed his lips against hers; something happened within her and she just...couldn't help it. She simply got caught up in the moment and the pressure of his lips against hers. So the only way to avoid getting caught up would be to avoid such situations, as impossible as that seemed. She sighed deeply. Emotions were truly troublesome.

In a small effort to distract herself from her current trajectory of thought, she lifted several small pieces of crumbled concrete from the surface of the roof and watched as they wove intricate patterns in the air in front of her eyes. However, the small display of power didn't keep her as busy as she wished and the effort itself took so very little thought that they soon slipped her mind as her thought digressed back to the very subject she desired to escape.

Slamming her face non too gently into her raised knees, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Why wouldn't he leave her alone?

She couldn't escape him, mentally nor physically and it was evoking so many different emotions in her that she was immediately repulsed, confused and strangely, enticed at the same time. How could she go from experiencing so few emotions to changing emotions at the drop of a hat? She simply wasn't comfortable with all the emotional revelations that this stupid curse forced to the surface

Maybe it was the spell itself that was effecting her emotions? Her emotional leash seemed to be losing more and more slack until she just couldn't control what she was saying or how she felt. Such as the time when her and Starfire were arguing. The dark empath had felt so many emotions that she would have sworn that they couldn't have possibly belonged to her and yet they did. She was so unaccustomed to her emotions that they usually blindsided her or she was over whelmed with them. Like that time with Terra. Just the thought of the occurrence made her jaw tighten. She had gotten so angry so quickly, and let the emotion blind her to reason and logic. She could have bested Terra, she was positive she could have. If it weren't for her stupid emotions that brought her nothing but grief. She sighed softly this time, picking up her head and resting her chin on her knees. Her eyes stared at the dancing pebbles in front her, unseeing as she became lost to her thoughts.

Unaware of the person approaching her, she continued her frustrated introspection that was getting her nowhere.

A body suddenly plopped down next to her and she started, jumping as the pebbles fell back down onto the roof. Her peripheral vision told her it was Robin and she frowned as she picked the rocks back up and continued the small aerial display. Unbelieving that she let him sneak up on her she didn't bother to reprimand him. She shivered as a cool breeze swept past her, the night not as kind as it was minutes ago.

It surprised her a bit when Robin wrapped his arms around her in response to her shiver but what surprised her even more was when the pebbles hit the ground once more. She frowned.

He didn't surprise her to the extreme extent as his sudden presence did so why did the pieces of concrete fall suddenly to the ground? Did it really matter? She asked herself as she tried to lift them again.

Only they didn't move.

She had never before experienced panic as she did now. She was frozen to the spot, her mouth open in shock. Why wasn't her powers working? Scrambling to her feet, she stumbled away from Robin and launched herself into the air.

She sighed a bit in relief. She could still fly and after a few moment of needless concentration the pieces of stone flew into the night. 'Might have used just a wee bit more power then I needed.' She mused. What was going on? First she couldn't even touch Robin with them and now---

Her thoughts stopped immediately and she barely managed not to gasp or even worse, burst into tears. Stupid emotions.

Did God really despise her that much? She was demon spawn, and she had come to accept it but did He have to keep reminding her with displays of wretched bad luck every now and then?

Robin glimpsed the distraught on Raven's face and he became even more worried after she bolted from him and flew up to hover a little more than six feet above him. Standing up shortened the distance considerably and his hand shot up to grab her ankle. "What's wrong-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence as gravity seemed to take effect instantaneously and she crashed into him. He yelped and fell over backwards, holding his precious cargo close to him as he collided with the hard rooftop. "Ow..." He muttered to himself, glaring at the female cradled against his chest. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Other than you?" She lashed out at him, angry beyond belief as she pushed herself up from his chest with more force than was necessary.

He grunted as he stood up swiftly to pursue her. Why was she behaving like this? The vents around them hovered in the air in response to her violent, turbulent emotions and he ignored them, grabbing her elbow and swinging her around to face him. Her eyes were blazing, and suddenly sound exploded around them and he simply reacted, dragging her to ground beneath him. "Okay Raven, I understand that you're furious at me although I don't exactly understand why, but are _trying_ to kill me!" He roared at her as she stared up at him with wide, amethyst eyes.

Robin was complexed and more than a bit concerned by her reaction. He wasn't that scary and even if he was, she was Raven. She wasn't scared of anyone.

Sweeping his gaze over the roof, he noticed that the previously floating vents had crashed to the ground and some of the weaker ones had splintered with the force. Directing his gaze back to the woman beneath him he softened considerably as he noticed the extreme pallor of her skin. "Raven, are you okay?" He asked concerned.

She was gritting her teeth as if she were in pain. "My arm..."

Rolling off of her, he finally noticed the three inch wide piece of scrapel lodged vertically in her shoulder. "Shit!" He muttered as he helped her sit up. Grasping the piece of metal gently, he examined it. It wasn't in as deeply as he first thought but he warned her anyway. "It's going to hurt."

Her eyes narrowed briefly, but sarcasm took too much effort at the moment and she simply closed her eyes in defeat and nodded, almost as if she couldn't trust her voice at the moment.

It was going to hurt...well duh!

Yanking it out as gently as he could, which still caused her to gasp, he used part of his cape to staunch the blood flow. However, the cloth seemed to do little and the blood continued to run. He cocked his head in confusion as he looked from the wound to Raven's pale face. Should her healing ability be kicking in at this point? He voiced his thoughts and her face suddenly twisted up as if she were in pain. Well, more pain than she should have been and she removed his hands from her gently. After a few seconds of concentration on her part, he watched as the wound seemed to stitch itself back together. Soon, nothing was left to indicate the incident but her torn leotard sleeve and the blood.

However, he soon frowned as he began to piece a few things together. "Raven, what's going on? First the bathroom incident, and now this?"

She sighed deeply before gaining her feet slowly. "For some reason you, Boy Blunder, cancel out my powers." She glared at him, daring him to respond and with out another word she whirled around and stalked from the roof, leaving Robin alone with his thoughts; a lot of which did not bode well for the dark empath.

* * *

Raven found the living room quiet and deserted, and took it upon herself to meditate some more. She would definitely need all that she could get until this unpleasant business was solved. Assuming her lotus position, she began to float several feet above the couch she was situated on. 

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath-" A small noise escaped Raven as her much needed meditation was cut short.

A pair of hands had gripped her waist and she immediately fell into the person who grabbed. In this case, she knew exactly who it was. "Robin..." She addressed him calmly, otherwise she would end up killing him and then what would happen to her perfect superhero record? Blemished, all because some obsessive, idiot couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"Put me down." She thought that she had asked rather nicely.

"No."

Fuck her record.

Her eyes narrowed darkly, but without her powers to back her up, Robin wasn't too afraid. She knew as well as he did that he could best her in hand to hand combat so he really wasn't too concerned.

However, he definitely didn't see the fist bearing down upon him until it was too late and it had already landed. Dropping her almost instantaneously but gently to her feet, a gloved hand prodded at the offended eye and he winced. He could tell he would have a black eye when he peeled the mask away later.

"Raven," he growled. "Was that really necessary?"

She shot him the blackest look he had ever seen in his life before she responded flatly. "Hell yes."

The only warning Raven received was a shifting of his stance before he was suddenly there in front of her and pushing her to the ground in front of him. They wrestled around for a few tense seconds, each one vying for control until Raven ended up under him, _again._ If she ended up under him one more damned time, she was going to scream, long and hard. Glaring up at him as he trapped her hands above her head, she resisted the urge to spit in his face. No, she wouldn't lower herself to such levels. Besides she didn't hate him, just immensely disliked him at the moment. Which would probably turn into extreme dislike if he didn't let her up.

Soon.

A few minutes passed, and they were still staring at each other, well, Raven was glaring and Robin was smirking like he had just won every competition known to man.

Very soon.

She shifted her lower half, if she could only get her legs under him...

"Nope, not gonna happen Rae." He moved so that he was now in between her legs and there was no way for her to position herself so that she could kick him off of her or in more sensitive areas.

Feeling him press against her, her dislike almost turned to hatred as a shudder ran down her form. Wasn't she supposed to be avoiding situations like these? "I'm going to kill you, Robin. Slowly. Painfully. And enjoy every single tortured scream I rip violently from your bloody, twisting, body." She reported his imminent death as flatly as she would the daily forecast.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "You weren't cuddled enough as a child, were you?"

Her eyes narrowed to the point that she could barely see his smirking visage above her, her jaw clenched so tight she could have sworn she heard several of her teeth breaking. "And then I'm going to find away to bring you back...so I can do it again, even more slowly. And laugh diabolically."

"Don't worry though, that's why I'm here." He continued, completely ignoring her last statement.

Her flat tone continued as her eye twitched uncontrollably. "And then I'm going to bring you back again, but this time I'll pick up Slade along the way and we're going to hack gleefully at your broken, whimpering, distorted cadaver, washing the walls red with your blood and laugh while we ride off into the sunset after getting married on your grave. But that's okay, because my superhero record would have already been shot to hell and I won't have to feel guilty about taking over the world."

Robin 'tsked' above her as the top of his mask met his hairline. _Superhero record?_ "Damn, you're evil, but that's okay. We'll work around it." He dropped a quick kiss to her forehead.

A whimper escaped her unintentionally. Was this some kind of punishment for horrendous past crimes?

He kissed her gently but pulled back hastily as Raven managed to sink her teeth into his bottom lip. She almost wanted him to try it again so she could have the pleasure of ripping his lip off.

She suddenly smiled at the thought.

"Let's go." He said abruptly, his hands instantly releasing hers. Pulling back, he allowed her to prop herself up on her forearms so she could look up at him as seemed to tower above her.

"Where?" She asked warily, her curiosity getting the better of her. The empath knew that she should be using the time to maim him horribly but she wanted to know where it was he _thought_ they were going.

Moving faster than she could react, he pushed his shoulder into her stomach, wrapping his arms around her back and lifting her from the ground.

Before she could blink she was hanging over his shoulder. "ROBIN!"

He laughed, which turned instantly into a grunt and a harsh cough as her knee collided into his chest and she smiled with dark satisfaction, kicking again. Rearranging his hands to contain her legs, he whistled lightly as he strolled from the living room.

However, Raven didn't plan to make him abducting her against her will any easier for him as she twisted wildly in his arms. Nevertheless, bands of steel seemed to be clasping her, and she couldn't shake free. When had he become so freakin' strong?

Raven settled for beating her fists against his back, none too gently. She would have also screamed but she found that to be beneath her and saved only for moments of dire distress or for wimpy females who couldn't save themselves.

And she would get him eventually.

"Where are we going and why?" She asked through gritted teeth, pausing the pounding of her arms to cross them under her chest. Closing her eyes as the ground passed quickly beneath her in long, bouncing strides, she thought to herself that he was lucky that she didn't succumb to motion sickness. However, now that she thought upon it, she was almost upset.

Nothing would make her feel better than hurling down Robin's backside. She smiled grimly at the thought. Her traitorous mind couldn't help but elaborate with 'his very cute backside'.

Her smile turned into a grimace.

"I've stayed away from you the entire day because I figured you needed your space. Hell, I needed mine too. But we've been apart for too long and I think I'm going to be sick if you're any farther from me than you need to be." He confessed, honestly.

"Okay, fine. I can accept that." Liar. "But where are we going."

"I need to take a shower."

A short pause and then...

Raven screamed. So it really wasn't beneath her after all. However, this could be considered a moment of dire distress because she sure as hell wasn't wimpy

She began to struggle with earnest this time. "I'm not going with you!" Where were her teammates when she needed them?

The implied words and the images they invoked flashed through her mind, making her stomach drop and did strange things to her libido. She was going no where _near_ him wet, naked and under a love spell. Or any of the combinations of the three.

"Woah, slow down Raven!" He cried as her struggling almost caused him to drop her. "You just have to wait outside the door; I didn't mean you were getting in with me...unless you want to. "

She slammed her elbows as sharply as she could into his back, putting as much force into the blow as her body and position would allowed.

Smiling viciously as his breath left him violently, she huffed. Why did she put up with him? A moment of thought passed. And why didn't anyone come to see why she screamed? "Where is everyone?"

Robin grumbled some things under his shallow breath that she probably didn't want to hear before answering her. "Another mission."

"Again?" She raised an eyebrow, almost appalled. "It's their third one this day!"

He nodded grimly, his body suddenly tense beneath her. "I know."

Robin was probably taking this worse than she was, all she could do was complain.

Raven sighed, her face tinging slightly red as her stomach growled. She was positive the Boy Wonder would have felt it if he had not heard it and her speculation was right as he stopped. When was the last time she ate?

Robin voiced her same thoughts. "Not sure," she mumbled.

"I guess I better feed you before I shower." He mused, turning around so quickly that her head spun and she stifled a gasp.

"On second thought," she said tightly. "Maybe you should take that shower first. You reek."

She grunted when he put more pep in his step than was needed and she bounced roughly against his muscled shoulder. "A long one...with lots of soap."

He did again it, mumbling a insincere, "Sorry" although Raven heard the ribbon of amusement under his falsely contrite tone.

"I'll even let you use my shampoo. Anything would help right about now."

Her journey to the kitchen wasn't the smoothest.

* * *

_Remember to review, please! _I'll update next chance I get.

* * *

_Spread your wings and fly...Butterfly_


	7. Some Things are Better Left Unknown

Hey guys! This chapter is dedicated (again) to Cherry Jade because it's her 17th birthday and not her 18th like I was led to believe. Happy Birthday sweetie! And to SweetNCrazieSugarMuffin even though it's not her birthday, just because she makes me laugh and to Daybreak25 because she's kick ass. I could go on and on and on but to make this simple, to all my pals over there at alena-chan's forum.

I would have updated earlier but unfortunately, my bunny, Thumper died last week. I'm going to miss him. Therefore, this chapter is dedicated to him too.

**Plug**: (just one this time)

_Chronicles of the Underworld: Know Better_ by **theplanetmary.**This is the _best_ supernatural Teen Titans fic I have _ever_ read in my entire life. Read it. I _swear_ you won't leave disappointed. It's laugh out loud hilarious too.

* * *

**Love Potion**

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter seven: Some things are better left unknown**

* * *

The loud shriek of fury coming from upstairs informed the Titans of a few of things. One, that Raven fell down a flight of stairs, unlikely as that was. Two, someone shaved her head while she was sleeping. Again, unlikely as no one here was suicidal, well, one had to wonder about Robin. And speaking of him, that lead to option three. Robin did something that pissed her off. 

Which was very likely.

An enraged scream of "ROBIN, YOU BASTARD!" followed and the two titans in the common passed glances between each other and nodded, rolling their eyes in exasperation as their suspicions were confirmed.

Yup, number three.

Cyborg snorted, he didn't even _want_ to know what his leader did now. After the last incident, these things were better left unknown. A shudder racked his body as he remembered the whole shaving cream commotion, it just didn't seem worth it anymore. His sanity was a high price to pay indeed.

He wasn't too sure if he like this new relationship between Robin and Raven even if it was forced. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the fact that his opinion was a bit bias, as he thought of Raven as a little sister. He would probably dislike any boyfriends or the like that she received, but all he wanted was for her to be happy. And somehow, he didn't think she was very content when screaming at the top of her lungs, "Robin you _fucking_ bastard, I'm going to rip off your eyelids with my toenails!" In all honesty, he had never heard anyone else be so damn creative and it frightened him just a bit as he took note of the more colorful ones, storing them away in his vocabulary for later use.

Another thing that bothered him was the extreme spike in crime rates in Jump City. Maybe the villains were trying to take advantage of the fact that they were short two members but he doubted that that was the only reason. Something was brewing in the Jump City cesspool of criminals and he was wary and waiting. He, like the other three members of the team, were relaxing before their next big sprint.

Turning his attention back to the video game he was playing, he paid the disturbance no more mind as he concentrated on beating his previously held record of the high score. Beast Boy was getting way too close for comfort.

As his thoughts turned to the grass stain, he wondered if he was awake. After all, that scream could have awoken the dead. His question was answered as the teen came stumbling through the living room door yawning loudly and plopping down on the couch.

His air was sticking about in wild places and Cyborg noted with a bit of disgust that the changeling had dried drool over half of his face. How the hell had he managed that one? Did he submerge his face in a bucket of it before coming downstairs?

Starfire, who was newly engrossed in some sort of puzzle book glanced up briefly upon Beast Boy's entrance before turning her eyes back to her book, ignoring the world.

Something exploded upstairs and they winced. Robin must have out done himself this time.

Cyborg suppressed a groan. It was too early for this shit.

Everyone suddenly jumped as something collided _hard_ with the metal doors of the living room, their heads swiveling towards it. It opened and Robin darted inside, still wearing his pajamas. Vaulting over Cyborg and the couch, he landed after a deft twist in the air in front of the metal man. With the biggest smile on his face, he sprinted out of the door on the opposite wall, with all the fluidity of a track star. However, this time he waited for the door to open first.

Cyborg, for one, had to admire the grace and agility he put into running for his life.

Very smooth.

Not even seconds later Raven's soul self flew through the door, the back of the couch, Cyborg's chest and out through the door Robin just escaped through.

The cybernetic teen shivered, the sensation of the black bird flying through his chest was more than just unpleasant. It was downright freaky. He shook his head abruptly. He definitely didn't want to do that again. Rubbing his chest absentmindedly, his jaw dropped as he directed his gaze back to the blinking image before him. GAME OVER.

"DAMN!" He swore, his mouth still open. He had been so damned close.

Beast Boy started to laugh. "Haha! Now it's my turn!" He exclaimed, snatching the controller from his metal friend's slack fingers.

Starfire sighed and scribbled across a page as she scratched her head.

"Please friends. I am confused with the puzzle of the words of cross. Is the word 'woof' not a synonym for the sound that is made by the cow? I only have three boxes available and it is not fitting."

The ever helpful Beast Boy responded before thinking. Or maybe he did and his brain just was too preoccupied with the game. Well, what little brain he did possess anyway. After all, the simple minded really couldn't multi-task. "Did you try quack?"

Cyborg sighed.

* * *

Robin's frenzied flight came to an end when Raven barreled into him after he dashed into the training room, several floors up from the living room. He was honestly surprised at how long he had lasted. Either Raven was getting rusty of he was becoming faster. 

At the moment, Raven was straddling him, her knees digging into his side as she tried to desperately to get her hands around his neck.

Talk about deja vu.

Teasing Raven and seeing her reaction was the only thing that kept him sane these days. If he couldn't drive her crazy with sweet kisses and soft caresses, then he would drive her insane by bothering her until she couldn't take it anymore. Robin admitted he didn't know what he would do once she got to that point but he was resourceful...he'd think of something. As it was, he couldn't keep the smile off his face and it only served to infuriate the young woman trying to kill him even more. Looking at her flushed face, he wasn't sure if that was at all possible.

Trying to keep Raven's hands from wringing his neck and getting her off at the same time wasn't seeming to work. He attempted to turn them over but Raven's unrelenting form, didn't allow him to completely get her under him and so they were both lying on their sides as the empath tried to kill him. He wrapped his long legs around her slim, bare ones as he tried to contain their kicking. They were both still in their pajamas as he was unable to resist teasing her upon awakening.

He definitely needed a hobby. A _healthier_ hobby. Perhaps he should take up knitting?

"Oh no you don't!" She hissed darkly at him, shooting flames from her eyes. "I will _not_ end up under you one more damned time!"

The soon to be deceased team leader couldn't stop the huge smirk that spread itself across his face nor the dangerous words that soon left his mouth. "I thought you like it under me. I could have sworn it was your favorite position."

As the words left his mouth, the rational side of his brain began to wonder if he really was suicidal. Or at the very least masochistic. Because that was really the only excuse it could come up with for Robin's less than healthy behavior. He gulped as narrowed, red eyes flashed threatening at him, promising painful death beyond his imagining.

Only one way to find out.

He shot forward, his lips enclosing on hers forcefully, as he parted her lips with his tongue. Her struggling intensified before she went absolutely still. Pulling her closer, the distance between them no longer existed. He rolled them over so that she was on top of him as he pushed her hands back behind her back.

His lips moved against her feverishly, becoming almost frenzied as a small purr slipped from Raven's form. He transferred her trapped hands to just one of his one before using his other hand to run gently down the side of her body. Bringing his hand back up, he buried it tightly in the hair at Raven's neck, directing their torrid kiss as he saw fit. He gasped, lights exploding behind his eyes as he felt Raven unexpectedly grind her hips into his own, his nearly nonexistent control spiraling wildly into obscurity. Growling, he tightened his grip on her hands as he kissed her lips almost bruisingly. A very brief thought occurred to him, that he might be hurting her but she wasn't trying to pull away. In fact, she was pressing herself fully into him as she moved against him restlessly. Besides, she was half demoness, she could handle it.

It was as if all the passion he held hidden and suppressed surged forward in a sudden, undeniable force that he neither could control nor staunch. His body burned and ached for the woman sprawled out on top of him and he wanted release from this painful pleasure.

He sat up abruptly, using his free hand to rearrange Raven's legs so that they were to both sides of his waist, straddling him. His lips trailed down her neck and closed around her collarbone. He sucked gently, before nipping her, making her yelp and jump in his grasp. Smiling against her skin, he kissed the area before moving even lower. His lips skimmed the top of her clothed breasts, taking the tender skin between his teeth lightly. Raven cried out, her heated noise drowned out completely by the sudden blaring of the alarm system.

Raven jolted almost painfully to her senses before pulling herself from Robin's forceful grip and scrambling backwards until her back met the wall, doing so as quickly as her hands and feet would allow. Again. Damn it all, she let him do it _again_! A tiny voice in her head couldn't help but add, _'At least you didn't end up under him this time.'_

A small growl issued forth from her mouth, unintentionally. She couldn't stop the reaction he evoked from her and part of her didn't want to. That same part wondered why she just didn't give in but she thanked God for the logical part of her brain. She wouldn't be run by her baser instincts, she was stronger and a hell of a lot smarter than that. A dangerous thought ran through her mind before she suppressed it. '_Maybe if we weren't under a spell...'_

She glared at him, as she tried to catch her breath. "I hate you..."

Robin was too busy also trying to regain his breath to reply with a witty rejoinder. But he did manage to smile weakly at the flushed female in front of him. He was actually quite proud of himself to make Raven lose control so quickly.

Regarding, the smug, winded male in front of her warily, she wanted to violently bang her head into the wooden floor until her brain oozed out through her ears. Disgusting, yes, but effective. That way, she wouldn't get herself into such situations. A frown marred her face. Again, wasn't she suppose to be avoiding these kind of things?

Grounding herself as she took a deep breath, she prepared herself to do something she really didn't want to. "We need to talk."

Robin's eyebrows rose, as he took in the girl seated across from him on the floor. "You know, if this was a normal relationship I would actually dread the next couple of words to leave your mouth."

The empath closed her eyes, resisting the very strong urge to throw very heavy objects at Robin or bang her head relentlessly against the wall in frustration. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes so she could look at him. "Why do you bother me so much? I mean, there's always some kind of method to the madness."

The Boy Wonder sighed before crawling over to Raven's side and plopping down next to her. Her large, amethyst eyes never left him as he made his way to her side, her head turned to the right to continue her close scrutiny. He could see the question in her eyes and wasn't too sure how he wanted to answer it but none the least, he felt strangely compelled to.

Shrugging his shoulders after severals seconds of silence, he said simply. "It's sort of like a release, I guess. It does help." He looked away from Raven's searching eyes, looking anywhere and everywhere as he in turn searched for the words to say, to possibly explain his impossible behavior. "I don't want to have sex with you, despite what my body demands because I respect you too much. You don't love me in that way and I realize that but sometimes when I get so caught up in you I forget and...I don't want to do something we will both regret in the morning. I tease you unmercifully because it's better than kissing you senseless...Well, in that intellectual aspect anyway. I get to spend time with you-"

Raven cleared her throat.

"Well, when I'm not running away from you for dear life, and the witty banter is almost as enjoyable as having sex...God am I actually saying this?"

Raven's eyes widened in light of this recent revelation. He drove her to the point of tearing her hair out because he cared! She was speechless. The logic was inversely twisted but made sense in its own mad way. God helped them all.

She groaned, bracing her head in her hands. "Okay."

The team leader looked at her, perplexed. "Okay what?"

The one thing Raven kept forgetting was that she really wasn't the only one 'suffering'. Lifting her head, she looked at him, determined. She could compromise just as well as he could. Besides, she had a friend who she knew would be able to help. Annoyance flickered through her. As soon as said friend returned from a vacation.

When she really thought about it, a task she tried hard to avoid, it was a choice between her body or her sanity. And personally, she rather liked her mind. "I guess I could stomach more of your touch."

He looked briefly annoyed as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Gee Raven, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, really I do. Thanks for the privilege."

She ignored him as she continued. "If you bring the teasing down a notch."

Peering at him, she awaited his answer. "Well?"

Something akin to horror bloomed in the pit of her stomach at the look that crossed his face.

Oh shit, what did she just get herself into?

She didn't even get the chance to respond before Robin pressed his lips against hers, pulling her close.

* * *

Hey guys, I hoped you all enjoyed this update! Don't forget to review, it means a lot to me to hear from you guys.

* * *

_Spread your wings and fly...Butterfly_


	8. Unreasonable

A/N: You guys really don't know how freakin' amazing you all are. I mean, freakin' fantabulous. 59 reviews for the last chapter alone? I am astounded! I really do love to hear from you guys, even if it's not in a review...don't be afraid to drop me a line via PM. Anywho, I really didn't have a crisis this time around as to why it's taken me so long to update. Unfortunately, reality reared its ugly head and forced all my hobbies to the background. And I've also been suffering from a case of depression, I didn't have writer's block or anything, I just didn't _want_ to write or do much of anything even when I did have free time. So, I'm trying to shake it off by forcing myself to update. Sorry I took so long.

Tada!

This chapter is more fun than anything else, next chapter will be a bit more serious. And to the consternation of many, the kiss at the end of last chapter was _not_ a cliffhanger, simply an end to the chapter. This chapter picks back up a few days after that. And no one walked in on them because everyone had left for a mission. (someone mentioned this in a review.)

**Thanks to all the following awesome people: Raven**, Delirium24, **Evilsangle**, The-BlackWings-of-Purity, **Daybreak25**, BirdsOnTheBrain, **K.C. Raven**, Glil, **Zarola**, gdfgdg, **Sariii**, lolopixie, **smile90000**, Yessy, **Enkaiame Katana**, Lyra36, **Dark Shadows 01**, Tecna, **Kidsnextdoor112**, Raven42431, **Dark Princesses**, Sadista, **Alena-chan**, PnayBabyGurl, **Monito**, Ravenwouldplaylax, **Haunted Whisper**, Cherry Jade, **Paprika90**, Lost, **HyperHammy**, EmanialHilel, **Fullmetal101**, The Blackest Darkness, **Dementa**, LinaKer, **Female Fox Demon**, Truth91920, **Koga's-biggest fan**, Eris Dea Disaccordo, **Twilight Sazuka**, Ace234, **RaeVin**, Queen Rae, **Peppertip**, Cherished18, **Windchaser3000**, Bloddystars357, **SanzoGirl**, Merlin, **MutilatedBliss**, Ravenslair, **MysteryGirl90210**, Sailor C. Ryoko, **Chaichi**, Oktoberfest, **Rosaku**, Val-Creative**, Cant wait **

**P**_l_u**g**_s_:

Vengeance and the Eight Devil by **Daybreak25**. I'm sure a lot of you have heard of this wonderful author and rightly so because Mickey's stuff is absolutely amazing and this latest Rob/Rae is breathtaking (gave me goose bumps). And it's not getting the recognition that it deserves. So, on that note...GO READ AND REVIEW! Here's a quick summary: Slade offs Starfire; Robin grieves; Asks a demon for powers to avenge her; And eventually ends up with Raven. How he gets from point C to point D is a mystery to everyone but the author. Read and find out.

Chronicles of the Underworld: Breaking Point by **theplanetmary**. Yes people, the sequel to Chronicles of the Underworld: Know Better has finally come out. She's already six chapters into it, so if you loved the first one, then get over there and read the sequel. And if you haven't read the first one then I suggest you move people, it's (in my opinion) the most creative, supernatural-(ish?) Teen Titans fic on this whole damned site. Plus it's funny as hell. And the sequel's a Harry Potter cross over. How awesome is that? Raven's like the queen of the underworld (you know, the place with the vamps and werewolves and witches and other cool dark characters) and Robin's her guard/mate and they save the world, go through hell and back, die yadda, yadda...you guys know where I'm going with this right?

Fusion by **Kokuryu**. This one is funky in a cool sort of way. Robin fuses with Slade and they're both interested in Raven. I think the concept is awesome. It's like Robade or Slobin or Rolain or Slain...I like the last one best, it's actually a word. Anywho, it's great all the same even if the fused guys don't get a cool new name.

For the next chapter, I'll do a plug section for everyone. If you want your story plugged, then just give me your name and the title so I can just copy and paste into the next chapter after I read your fic. Good?

Great.

One more thing, if you see **(lull)** then that means that the person is not speaking but laughing, growling, mumbling, etc. I originally had a bunch of dots but the stupid setup won't let it stay and I needed some way for everyone not to get confused. So the speech or movement pattern should be easy to pick up: Robin, Raven, Robin, Raven...etc.

Moving on...

**Love Potion**

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter 8: Unreasonable**

Day 8

And Raven still hadn't really looked at that stupid, recovered page yet. The opportunity kept escaping her and she really hadn't made the effort to look at. Not very wise on her part but between Robin and well, Robin she hadn't had the chance. At the moment, the Boy Wonder was seated on the floor next to her legs as she silently read her book. He was destroying Beast Boy in some type of shooting game, and the changeling's squeals of rage and disbelief was really cutting into her concentration.

"Note to self: remember to murder Cyborg when he returns." She muttered under her breath. The metal hybrid had taken Starfire to go shopping but vehemently suggested that Beast Boy stay at the tower _after_ he said he would probably be gone all day. The rational part of Raven didn't really blame him for leaving the changeling behind. He obviously wanted some peace from the annoying pest and that was a notion she could relate to; however, the vindictive part of her _didn't_ forgive him for leaving Beast Boy with her and vowed vengeance as it's maniacal laugh echoed through the recesses of her mind. From the corner of her consciousness, she heard Beast Boy exclaim 'I quit' and then dramatically toss down his paddle. Not really caring, she returned to her reading material. That was when he started to bother her. And it was only 9:00 am. She had all day to spend with the _charming_ changeling. In an effort to retain her sanity, she ignored him. A few minutes of ignoring him led to the following moment:

"Raaaven!"

Her eye twitched almost violently.

Robin looked at her with worry before looking towards her source of annoyance and wrapping his arm casually around her calf in case she decided it was necessary to throw Beast Boy through a window via her powers.

"Err, Beast Boy if I were you I really wouldn't do that right now."

"But she has to answer me eventually, right? Raaaavennn!"

"Actually Beast Boy, she doesn't have to answer you at all. She could just murder you and throw your green carcass into a shark-infested ocean."

Beast Boy paused as he looked at Robin, almost considering his words. A few seconds of silence passed and he shook his head directing his attention back to the quiet empath. Obviously, Robin didn't know what he was talking about. If Raven hadn't killed him yet, then she wasn't going to. Besides, he hadn't really been around Raven in like a week and her threshold of tolerance for him was much higher. "You know you wanna play! I'll even show you how, here's how you shoot and here's how you-"

"Robin..." Raven said quietly, her fingers digging almost violently into the cover of the book clutched in her hands. "Please remove your hands."

"Raven, breathe."

"Move them. Now."

The Boy Wonder ignored her as he stood, his hand trailing along her calf and then along her thigh so not to relinquish his touch. Quickly, before she could react and realize that his hand had left her, he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go to the kitchen, shall we?" He voiced the words with spurious jocularity as he led her into the kitchen.

A frown creased her brow as she scowled at him, her eyes dark and yet burning brightly at the same time. The look produced two completely ambiguous emotions as a wave of heat shot through him. Part of him wanted to run and hide beneath his bed covers and the other part wanted to take her with him. "I am not a child, Robin. Therefore, if I decide I want to kill Beast Boy then dammit, I will."

"After tea then?" He suggested lightly as he deposited her into a chair at the kitchen table and tried to shake the feeling of warmth that just swamped him. Crossing her arms across her chest huffily, she glared at the back of his head while he puttered around the kitchen. "And I will _not_ be placated by a cup of tea!"

At that exact moment the true object of her ire strolled into the kitchen. Her eyes detached themselves from Robin's spiky head and settled on the green changeling. "Ignore him." She spoke aloud to herself. Adverting her eyes, she stared at the questionable stain of the kitchen wall opposite her seat as she pondered about how it could have possibly ended up there. However, in the zoo they lived in, it wasn't hard to imagine something.

"Ignore who?" Beast Boy asked nonchalant, as he propped himself on the counter right in front of her, obscuring her view of the dubious blemish.

"You."

"Why?"

She could feel her anger mounting again, like the inexorable swell of the ocean at high tide. Again, why her emotions were so volatile, she could not tell. But Beast Boy annoying the hell out of her simply was not working out very well for her attitude or his imminent health.

"Because if I don't we'll be short a member."

"Why? Are you gonna leave?" Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as her fingers drummed stiffly on the tabletop.

'Robin better finish my tea quickly.' She did find it easier to deal with annoyances when she had a calming cup of tea to sip.

"Beast Boy," Robin started, exasperatedly. Why go through the trouble of keeping the changeling alive when he seemed so dead set on thwarting his efforts? An unintentional snort of amusement escaped him. Dead set. Yeah, he knew he was corny.

"What?" The green titan turned towards Robin who made a cutthroat motion, shaking his head as he brought his flat hand horizontally across his neck.

Scratching his head in slight confusion, Beast Boy turned back to Raven before taking a deep breath, "So, Mega Monkey Balls or Doom 3000?"

A low growl escaped her and before she could lunge across the table, sealing Beast Boy's doom, a loud boom, not unlike the hard, intentional slamming of a cabinet door, resounded from somewhere outside of the haze of her annoyance. Was Robin trying to piss her off or was he completely incompetent at making a simple cup of tea?

"Drop it, Robin. I'll do it myself." Was the sharply spoken demand.

Immediately, as if he had been burnt, he hastily yanked his hands away from the cup and watched with incredulous eyes as it shattered against the linoleum floor. Unimaginable terror coiled in the pit of his stomach, burning and ponderous. His eyes widened as they were jerked from the scattered shards to stare at the dark girl, so many thoughts whirling through his head and none of them good. For him.

Noticing his incredulous stare she turned to him, annoyed. Did being a male titan immediately make them all mentally deficit? "What?" She snapped, her attention briefly taken away from the green titan.

Robin hastily shook his head. He was feverently praying to any god who could hear his invocation. _'Please don't let this mean what I think it means.'_ "Nothing." He murmured as he bowed his head and crouched to retrieve the ceramic slivers scattered across the floor.

"Tell me!" She demanded as she crossed her arms across her chest.

The words escaped his mouth without his permission or intention. "I think that I have to do whatever you demand." Robin swallowed—hard.

Her eyes widened as she looked down at him and he could tell she had a million different thoughts flying through her mind. "A-are you serious?"

The Boy Wonder laughed nervously. "Nope, just kidding." He stood in one, smooth movement. "I think I'll go get a broom."

He whirled, ready to make a mad dash from the kitchen before she said in a single, ringing word,

"Stop."

Feeling his muscles freeze in place, he cursed silently. This was some kind of retribution for the whole 'taking-advantage-of-her-because-he-canceled-her-powers' wasn't it? He replied as casually as he could manage. "Yes?"

The doomed bird blinked. Wow. His voice was deceptively calm, not betraying any slivers of the trepidation or shit-his-pants-fear that was racing down his spine. Good for him.

"Beast Boy..." Raven started, her voice pleasantly low.

He gulped. "Yeah?"

"Leave."

The green changeling scrambled from the room without being told twice. It was possibly the smartest thing he had ever done in his entire life. He passed a sympathetic look over his shoulder to Robin as the door closed shut behind him. Beast Boy wondered briefly and a bit morosely if he would ever see his leader again.

This time Robin gulped, turning around as he felt his muscles relax. He could feel sweat trickle down the back of his neck and he rubbed sweaty palms nervously against his pant leg. He was going to die. Or she was going to make him do something horribly embarrassing. "Before you-"

"Come here, now."

His muscles jerked as he was forced to obey the low, throaty demand. He watched helplessly as his traitorous, boot clad feet came to a stop two feet away from Raven.

She watched him, her gaze calculating and penetrating. Three minutes of unbearable silence passed, seeming more like hours to Robin than 180 seconds. Slowly, a small smile bloomed over her lips, an expression of pure and evil bliss and the doomed bird's stomach dropped through the floor.

Panicking, he desperately ran his thoughts over the past week or so. There were times when he choose to ignore Raven's demands right! Why not now? What was different?

In fact, around eight minutes ago, she demanded he move his hand and he...

Didn't.

Robin barely managed to choke down his laugh of triumph and stamp down the sudden urge to do a victory dance. His hand was touching her. He snorted quietly to himself, as if he needed any more reasons to touch the poor girl. He wouldn't be surprised if she became a complete recluse and shied away from everyone's touch after this bizarre episode.

The astute female must have noticed his suppressed mirth and her dancing eyes narrowed just a bit as she rested her hands on her cocked hips. "And what, pray tell, is so amusing about your funeral?"

Of the course the Boy Wonder wasn't compelled to tell her of his discovery as she phrased it more as an interrogatory than a declarative, but he wanted to gloat as he announced gleefully, "You're demands only work when I'm not in physical contact with you."

He smiled wickedly as her gorgeous amethyst eyes widened once more that day, her mouth dropping open slightly. Pouncing before she could get the opportunity to backtrack and insert some distance between them, he laughed inwardly as her growl of warning tried to echo through the room.

"Rob-"

His mouth crashed down onto hers.

...**Several hours later (and the beginning of World War III**)...

"You know you're being childish, right?"

"Me!" Was the screeched response. "ME?"

"Yes. You."

"I wasn't the one who chased me into here! And it's damned uncomfortable."

"You could just come out you know..."

"HA! Not happening anytime soon!"

"You're being unreasonable, Raven."

"Unreasonable!"

"Yes. Unreasonable."

"You try having a horny, uncontrollably teenager chase you into a damned closet and see how unreasonable you can be!"

"I don't know, it would depend on several things."

"And what would those things be?"

"Well, definitely whether or not she was horny too and if she would join me. If she didn't then I can stand to reason that I'd be very unreasonable."

"(lull)"

"Raven, stop growling at me. You know you're the only girl I'd let into my closet." 

"You have ten seconds to step away from the god damned door."

"You're so generous."

"1...2...3...10"

"For someone so smart you sure as hell can't count."

"Go away, Robin. NOW."

...**5 minutes later**...

"How many times are we going to do this? You know as well as I do that once I leave your range of influence or once a certain amount of time passes the compulsion doesn't work anymore."

"As many times as I want. I like to be unreasonable, remember?"

"Unfortunately."

...**Several hours later (again)**...

"Can I-"

"Don't speak."

A shuffle of movement.

"Don't get up."

Glare.

...**twenty minutes later**...

"Raven, you're being un-"

"Don't use that word."

"Fine then. Bullish."

"I don't like that one either."

"Bitchy."

Pause. "That works."

"You _­would_ like that."

The flip of a page.

"Raven-"

"Shut up and sit there for just ten more minutes and let me finish this book."

...**Fifteen minutes later**...

"Robin, if you don't remove these handcuffs and let go of my hand I swear by all that is holy I _will_ make you suffer."

"Sorry Raven, I wasn't paying attention."

"(lull)"

"Speak up, I can't understand you when you mumble threateningly under your breath."

"I will kill you."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a promise."

"Really?"

"No, not at all. I fling out random death threats all the damned time."

"You need a therapist."

"After this whole mess is over? I can _guarantee_ you, I will."

"You know, if you separate the first three letters of 'therapist' from the others, it looks like 'the rapist'?"

"God, lend me strength."

...**twenty minutes later**...

"Seriously, Robin. Unlock these."

"Why?"

"Because I have to go to the bathroom."

"You're lying just to get loose."

Sigh. "What do you want me to do to prove it? Piss on your spiky head?"

"I love it when you talk dirty. Although...I'm pretty sure that would hurt, you know with the spikes and all."

"1...2...3...4..."

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I was _trying_ to count to ten."

"Here, I'll help because I know you have trouble counting that high. 1...2...3..."

Pause. "DIE!"

"Ow! That was completely unnecessary!"

"(lull)"

"Stop snickering at me, Raven."

"Then let me go."

"Fine."

"Thank you. And by the way, I want you to climb under Beast Boy's bed and stay there until the spell compulsion wears off."

"What? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...**twenty five minutes later**...

"Robin are you okay?"

"(lull)"

"Stop twitching like that."

"(lull)"

"Was spending twenty minutes under Beast Boy's bed _that _bad?"

Pause. "You-you're joking right? There was tofu under there that began to colonize several years ago. It walked up to me and said 'welcome, you're the first outsider we've had since Beast Boy's dirty boxers fell down here'."

"(lull)"

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME! I saw so many disgusting, scary things down there I'm probably going to have nightmares and you know what? _You're_ going to have to deal with them!"

"(lull)"

"Raven!"

"Sorry. Almost. Well, not really."

"(lull)"

"Ugh! Don't touch me! You're covered in filth and only God knows what else."

"(lull)"

"Can't you maybe ask me to go somewhere instead of just throwing me over your shoulder like a disgruntled caveman?"

"Me dirty. Me get clean. My woman come with!"

"Your Neanderthal routine is frighteningly accurate. Here's an idea! Try dragging me down the hallway by my hair, that'd make it even more authentic. Besides, didn't we have this conversation already? That's the only way you're getting me into the bathroom with you."

"Me not going to bathroom."

"Why are we leaving the tower?"

"(lull)"

"Don't you dare!"

"(lull)"

"ROBIN, YOU BASTARD!"

* * *

Cyborg sighed with exasperation as he contemplated the two soaked teens in front of him that were leaking all over the carpet and giving him a major migraine. 

"Raven. Seeing how you're probably still the most sensible one here despite the fact that you're sopping wet, could you _please_ tell me why I had to fish you two out of the bay?"

"Because _Robin,_" She threw a scathing look at the accused male. "Threw me into it."

"And why did you throw her into the bay, Robin?" What was he, a therapist? Hell, at this rate if he charged them by the hour he'd be a millionaire by the week's end. As the temporary team leader he had been designated for the position of interfering and saving Robin's life whenever he deemed necessary. He was so ready to quit.

"Because she made me spend twenty minutes under Beast Boy's bed!"

Cyborg's brow went up in question. "She _made_ you?" He knew Raven could be frightening from time to time but _forcing_ Robin to do something as horrible as that?

"Did I stutter?" He bit out, crossing his arms across his chest. There was no way in hell that he was going to volunteer the information that Raven could control him.

An expression that could only be describe as diabolic glee crossed her face and both males present shivered. "I can control him when he's not touching me."

Okay, that explained a lot. Cyborg sighed as he shook his head. He was only gone for about eight hours and World War III happens during his absence?

He really didn't want to know, honestly he didn't, but his curiosity was a persistent little thing. "Why did she make you spend twenty minutes under Beast Boy's bed?" Cyborg suppressed a shudder of horror. He hadn't known Raven could be so damned evil. Twenty minutes? In Beast Boy's room, let alone under his bed? 'Note to self: remember never to piss off Raven.' He didn't even want to imagine what could possibly be living under there.

"Because he handcuffed me to him."

"Robin?" Cyborg prompted.

"She wouldn't let me talk or move for only God knows how many hours as she read a stupid book!"

Cyborg didn't even say her name, he simply leveled a look in her direction.

"He chased me into a closet after annoying me for an hour or two!"

"She would have made me do something embarrassing. Either that or murdered me."

"Well I wouldn't have tried to if he had just let me kill Beast Boy!"

"My bad." He started sarcastically as he glared at her through the hair dripping in his face and tried to ignore the way the water glistened on her skin. "Next time you have homicidal urges, I'll just hand you a knife and leave you to it."

"That's all I ask."

"You guys see how easy that was? You really must clear up this miscommunication issue." Cyborg grumbled sardonically as he shook his head, dropping it into his hands. He needed an aspirin. One the size of the T-car. After shopping nearly eight hours with Starfire, he didn't know how much more he could deal with before his system decided he was under too much stress and automatically shut down.

"Raven, you're being-" Robin bit off the end off his sentence.

"Go ahead, say it. Bitchy." She glowered at him.

"No, un-freakin'-reasonable!"

"Well-"

"Stop it! Both of you!"

Both shocked birds turned to face the fed up hybrid. "You're both being childish! And quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of it. I want you to both to go Raven's room and stay there until you can act your age and not like toddlers!"

Robin and Raven could do nothing but stare in shock at Cyborg, their jaws hanging open. "NOW!" He roared.

Robin stood there uncomfortably, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Errr, Cyborg? I don't think-"

"Thanks for the revelation, Robin but I already knew that. And seeing how I'm temporary team leader until the whole situation is over and done with, my word is law around here. Go, now."

Raven disappeared in a wash of ebony and Robin stalked stiffly from the room, his new role of subservience a hard thing to swallow.

Cyborg sighed, as the metal door slid shut silently behind Robin's angry form. Dropping his weary frame into the couch, he closed his eyes. He would separate the quarreling birds if he could but he knew that action would be detrimental to Robin's health. Unfortunately, they had to learn how to get along, especially since the extensive spike in criminal activity would not allow him or the other titans to act as mediators. And as much as he abhorred the idea of sending them both to the same room, he trusted Raven's common sense. Besides, he had been leaving them alone for the past week and _hoped_ nothing really bad had happened between the birds. He just hoped his decision was something they all wouldn't regret come morning.

Cyborg shook his head harshly, as if trying to forcibly shake the thoughts from his mind as he opened his eyes and stood up quickly in disgust. This was something he did _not_ want to be thinking about.

He was definitely going to knock himself unconscious for several hours.

* * *

I had more planned but my stupid muse went on strike. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up a lot sooner. Part of me is happy with this and part of me isn't shrugs. I might make some changes and if I do, I'll let you know when I update the next chapter. I just didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. And on that note, if I have any horrendous mistakes, please feel free to correct me. If not, please note that I was in a bit of a hurry to get this up.

**A/N II:** I figured I'd continue this down here because it was getting pretty crowded near the top and that many people were probably getting impatient with my ramblings. Only God knows why I'm being so talkative. As my friend calls it, I have diarrhea of the mouth. Anywho, I several ideas for new fanfics and I so I'm gonna give you guys a brief overview and I want your opinion of what I should start next:

"Currently untitled" – **Red X/Raven** (this one is definitely for SweetNCraziesugarmuffin). Raven is being framed for something she didn't do and the evidence is piled up high against her. Apparently, so is Red X. But he's also a villain so he's kind of hard to believe. Can they overcome their differences and obvious attraction and work together? Can he be trusted or is he involved in someway? Eh, summary needs some work.

"Demon Heritage" -title subject to change– **Robin/Raven**. (This one is my fav so far. I have some many ideas, I don't know where to turn.) Raven turns 18 and she's finally of age according to the demon world. Not only does she gain new powers and mature into her demonic heritage, she's the sole heir and proprietor of the House of Scathe. Now Raven not only has to deal with a new, dangerous society and overcome jealous demons, assassination attempts, challenges for her title, new romantic interests that might only be attracted by her new status, death threats and political subterfuge, she has to cope with her new feelings for a certain Boy Wonder and adjust to her new instincts and abilities. No one ever said being a high-ranking demon aristocrat would be easy.

"Endless Nighttime" – **Nightwing/Raven** – Completely A/U. It was a challenge given to me by Kokuryu. (his summary follows) For the past three years, Jump City's criminal underworld has been ravaged by a mysterious vigilante known only as Nightwing. Despite this, the brutality of Nightwing's methods has left him persona non grata with the JCPD and they have recruited a new detective named Rachel "Raven" Roth to find out who he is and place him behind bars. The interesting part is that Nightwing begins to love Raven and Raven might harbor feelings for him as well.

"Worlds Apart" -title subject to change – **Robin/Raven** – Completely A/U. This was an idea I got from reading or watching something…I don't really remember. Well, anyway, Robin's a human prince and Starfire's a Tamarean Princess. They were betrothed to unite the races, yadda yadda. Raven's a slave because of her mixed heritage; actually, anything that's not all human or all Tamarean (I have to be spelling this wrong) is enslaved. Tough luck. Anywho, Raven and Robin fall in love. Yadda yadda. But it's forbidden. Yadda yadda. You may think you've read it or heard it before but I have a couple of twists up my sleeve.

I have so many more ideas but these are the only ones that are even remotely close to being fully developed. YOU STEAL MY IDEAS, I GUT YOU LIKE A FISH AND FEED YOU TO MY LITTLE SISTER! Anywho, just vote and tell me what you think and…

Don't forget to review!

* * *

_Spread your wings and fly...Butterfly_


	9. Understanding It Better

A/N: I'm sooo sorry that this is so completely late. I offer my sincerest apologizes and hope that you guys don't hate me. I'm just going to move straight on to the fic. Enjoy, despite it's extreme tardiness.

Love Potion

By Amber Myst

Chapter 9: Understanding it better

**§§§§**

"Raven?" Robin knocked on her door gently and then entered the dimly lit room cautiously. After stomping from the living room in a mild fury, the last thing he wanted to do was be in a room alone with a furious Raven. So, ignoring his loins, Cyborg's demands (especially Cyborg's demands), and the small voice in his head that demanded he go directly to an angry Raven and kiss her into a better mood, he followed his intelligent and self preserving mental processes, which suggested he journey to the training room to vent.

He did not argue.

Six hours later, and 'separation anxiety' was eating away at him. The pain wasn't terribly horrible yet (he had suffered worst) but he wasn't glutton for punishment nor masochistic and preferred to avoid the gut-wrenching pain involved with being away from Raven for too long.

Thank you _very_ much.

The door closed softly behind him as his eyes adjusted to the minimal light of the room. Barely able to make out the outline of Raven's body on her bed, he approached her casually and stopped at the foot of her bed.

"Raven, are you awake?"

"No, I'm not." She groused as she sat up, running her fingers curtly through her sleep tousled hair. Her eyes sought the small digital clock on her bedside table and a small groan escaped her when they found it. "You do realize it's 2 in the morning, right?"

Robin ignored her grumpy inquiry and pushed her legs gently to the side as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you still upset with me?" He decided not to beat around the bush but instead to plow right through.

Raven eyed him curiously for a moment before realizing he was serious and heaving a sigh. "You wanna talk about that now?"

"No Raven, I wanna talk about it in, oh about two years from now."

"No need for sarcasm," she grumbled under her breath, he could have sworn she said something like 'it's too early for this shit'. But he could have been mistaken. "Besides, I really wasn't _mad_ mad at you."

"Because that made _perfect_ sense." He responded exasperatedly, irritation evident in his tone.

"Listen, I did a little bit of reading while you out. It was about the spell, so I'm just going to assume that you want to hear it and tell you about it.

"The spell is very ancient and powerful and has... certain stipulations that we have to fulfill, which so far we haven't. And as long as we don't, the spell will remain curable. As to all the, I guess you can call them side effects. How do I explain this?" Raven frowned thoughtfully before continuing tentatively, testing the way the words echoed in her mind before letting them slip from her tongue.

"The spell is almost cognizant, it's kind of like it has it's own intelligence. As time progresses and we haven't consummated those qualifications, the spell will taken it upon itself to keep a balance of power. First, the deviation of my powers because it gave me an advantage over you. Then, it gave me control over you when you're not touching me because we still haven't done as we were required to by the spell. Usually, this wouldn't happen because the spell caster would have absolute control but the spell gained sentience because no one was predominate and it claimed that position for itself. But it still doesn't know who to give control to because one of us didn't cast the spell so it takes it away and makes us even. I know it sounds kind of crazy but that's the best way I can explain it all."

A few moments of silence passed as Robin digested the information before speaking. "And those qualifications are?"

"What else? Sex."

"Sooo, what type of sexual acts actually count as-"

"Robin," Raven growled at him in warning, her heart sputtering wildly in her chest at the suggestion. "Don't finish that sentence."

"What?" He grinned innocently; Raven could barely make out the flash of his teeth in the light.

"I knew you couldn't take this seriously," she uttered reproachfully under her breath as she slapped him with her pillow and settled back down to to sleep, her back turned to him..

"That's not true." Robin protested at her back. "I'm just not...use to us being serious, you know?"

He heard a sigh slip from her and felt her sift beside him, his vision not quite as sharp as hers. "My emotional control allows me control," she began quietly as she regarded him seriously under the dim lighting. "Which is why I believe my emotions aren't quite as...stoic as they usually are."

"Oh. So _that's_ why you're more keyed up than a pregnant woman on steroids."

A few seconds of silence passed before Raven smiled slightly. "So, what's your excuse?"

"Me?" His eyebrows rose in surprise and confusion.

"You can't remain serious long enough to decide _not_ to piss into the wind."

An abrupt laugh escaped him and he plopped down onto the bed next to her, pulling her closer to him.

"And you can see my point right?" She questioned wryly as she allowed him to draw her closer, resistance the farthest thing from her mind as their legs entwined together and his arms encircled her. This more playful, affectionate Robin was a vast digression from the normally strict, obsessive team leader.

"Maybe," he murmured as he buried his face into her neck and nibbled at the pale column of skin. "My excuse?"

She nodded, her chin bumping into the crown of his head. "It would help. I mean, I know you kind of explained it before, but you also agreed to lay off a bit more. I think you've gotten progressively worse."

"Not being able to have you has gotten even more painful. I guess that kind of coincides with your theory about the spell getting stronger. It's kind of like my nerve endings are on fire or like a thousand needles pressing into my skin at once, I still haven't decided," He said this wryly. "but levity helps me concentrate on things other than the pain."

"Like running for your life?" She asked dryly, staring at the dark ceiling above her with half lidded eyes as she tried to suppress a moan as Robin's teeth scraped along the skin of her neck. Obviously, he was too preoccupied to answer her.

"Stop." She demanded, knowing that the command would probably go unheeded.

She was correct.

"Robin..." She growled faintly, also knowing fully well that it was mostly bluster. What he was doing felt too good for her to _want_ him to stop. However, she was aware of the fact that he_ needed_ to stop before things progressed past the point of no return. Especially since now she realized that she did not have complete control over her emotions.

"Fine." He mumbled against her skin sullenly before placing a swift kiss there and lifting his head up, propping his chin against the top of her head. "I'm...really going to try to be more serious and-" He flinched a bit before continuing , "- seriously consider _paying attention_ every now and then. But I can't make any promises though." He added quickly to the end.

She hid a small smile against his neck. "That's all I ask."

**§§§§**

Two weeks had passed since the initiation of the spell and the streets had been teeming with criminal activity, more than usual which was something that had worried Raven, but not quite as much as her current situation. For one, her and Starfire still weren't on speaking terms. She was continuously ignored, despite her efforts of reconciliation. And when the beautiful redhead was forced to talk to Raven it was coarse, laconic and laced with asperity.

However much she despised the situation, the irony was not lost on her. It seemed that the roles between the two had changed. She was the one trying to get Starfire to join her in conversation and Star was the one ignoring her. But whenever she didn't desire the alien's company, which was most of the time, she was never harsh with her words, in fear of hurting her tender feelings.

But she was also a bit angry as well. This situation was not her fault, nor did she ask for it to happen either. She just wished Starfire would understand this and at least try to accept it before blowing her off.

Raven tilted back her head, letting steaming hot water stream over her features, washing away the lingering vestiges of sleep as she blanked her mind. She had just woken upabout twentyminutes ago and after kicking Robin out of her room, she jumped into the shower. The empath had found that she was able to think better when in the shower as she let the pressure of the water momentarily wash away her problems like it sluiced away the sweat from her body.

Her thoughts unwilling turned towards the spell, as they were wont to do as of late. According to the spell book, she had to have at least eight hours of contact with him until they 'finalized' they spell. She guessed it was to make sure that nothing and nobody got into the way.

She sighed. As long as she didn't have sex with Robin, the spell was reversible. She could handle that much at least. This whole situation would have been vastly different and maybe a bit more bearable if she could control Robin fully. But it wasn't to be.

"Well, that was disappointing." She mumbled to herself as she stepped out of the shower and toweled herself dry. Being able to control him completely would have solved so many problems. But a feeling of uneasiness uncurled within her. Controlling a free spirit like Robin seemed..._wrong_ on so many different levels. And that would make her no better than...Slade. She shuddered.

Raven took a few extra minutes to brush her teeth, wash her face and do other similar things before wrapping herself in a towel and opening the door.She had taken longer in the shower than she normally had but, she needed to relax. She shivered slightly at the immense change from the bright, steamy bathroom to her eerie, cold room. She took one step into her dark room, pulling the door shut behind her and froze. Robin was currently lounging on her bed and his gaze was trained on her.

"What are you doing in here Robin!" Raven hissed at him, tightening the one-handed grip she had on her towel, as she braced the other one on her hip assuming a threatening stance. "I thought I kicked you out."

It took Robin a few tries to swallow past the lump in his throat. When he did his voice was slightly hoarse. He winced slightly, hoping Raven hadn't noticed as desire swamped him at the sight of her towel clad form. Damn that spell and his stupid hormones. "I thought you had taken your clothes into the bathroom with you." He offered as an excuse, as he slid from the bed and tried to ignore the sliver of thigh peeking out from between the closing of her towel. Well, it was the truth. She was taking longer than she usually did so he naturally assumed she had dressed in the bathroom.

"Well as you can see I didn't." She snapped at him. "Now could you please leave."

The plea was spoken more as a request than a demand so Robin chose to ignored it. A devious smirk crossed his lips. "Nah…I don't think I want to." He strolled across the room and was in front of her before she could blink her eyes.

"GET–" Raven's demand was cut off by Robin's lips descending upon hers.

She went completely rigid, as she concentrated solely on not reacting. Another thing she had found out over the past week was that Robin's kisses could cause her to melt so quickly it was embarrassing. She tried to resist him multiply times but found out that she mostly succumbed to hiskisses that varied in intensity. At the moment, he was ravishing her mouth, making sure she couldn't get in a word edgewise. He knew the power he held over her and if he could just get her to react then, he knew she was his for the time being. She told him very clearly that although both of them were under the effects of the spell she would control what would happen and she said clearly and under no circumstances were they to go any farther than heavy making out.

Raven had grudgingly admitted to him that she could not resist his advances…well it took five days of pressing her into dark corners, and spine tingling kisses for her to admit it but she had eventually. Raven didn't like not being in control and having him do those things pissed her off. And so she confronted him about it and unwittingly made the situation worse. He smirked to himself against her still unresponsive lips.

'But they wouldn't stay that way for long' He thought to himself smugly as he crushed her scantily clad body against his. Her soft curves melted into the hard planes of his body as he ran his hands up the smooth expanse of her arms and along her shoulders. His hands were now running through her silky, lavender hair, tracing patterns on her bare shoulder blades, the feel of his fingers leaving lingering trails of warmth across her skin as he moved his hands in slow strokes back down her arms in his bid to touch more of her. He felt like laughing when her hands hesitantly release her towel and wound their way around his neck as she moaned softly. He didn't dare; although he knew Raven melted when it came to his intense advances, he still possessed a healthy fear of the dark empath---sometimes. It would have been foolish not to. It wasn't like he could kiss her senseless every second of the day, although he highly doubted he would mind trying.

His tongue plunged into her mouth when she finally opened and dueled with her, sliding against each other as each vied for control, his fingers burying themselves in her hair. He licked the roof of her mouth and she shuddered uncontrollably as she pressed her mouth feverishly against him, her body following suit. The press of their bodies against each other was the only thing keeping Raven's towel from pooling unforgotten at her feet on the floor. He growled and pushed her back almost roughly, her back colliding hard with the bathroom door, his hand cushioning the blow of her head against the metal surface. The dark empath shivered in delight at the adverse contrast between the cold, unyielding metal at her back and the exciting, scorching heat of the body plastered against her front.

Raven keened low in her throat when he removed his mouth from hers, the absence leaving her feeling bereft. Whenever Robin kissed her she was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions that couldn't possibly have belonged to her and yet…they were distinctively her own. Jumbled and confused, but her own. She loved it when he kissed her but loathed her almost non existent self control. She hated it when he started but also hated it when he stopped. The ambivalent emotions however, didn't last long, his adroit mouth finding her bare collarbone, sweeping away the thoughts in a flashflood of pleasure and heat. He nibbled along it, eliciting gasps of pleasure as he soothed the stinging marks with quick sweeps of his tongue. Her hands found their way into hissable locks and clenched there as he kissed his way to the smooth underside of her jaw.

He sucked gently at the sensitive area where Raven's jaw ended, just under her ear. He smiled inwardly as she tightened her grip in his hair, almost to the point of pain. He had recently discovered that particularly area was a weak spot for Raven and healmost always took advantage of it. Her hips rolled sharply against his and he gripped them tightly, probably leaving bruises but at the moment, not caring asdesire as hot as lavaraced through his veins and lights explodedbeneath his closed eyelids.

"Robin…" She gasped his name frantically, heat spearing through her already overheated body, as she jerked his hair sharply. He winced as she brought his lips back up to her searching ones, kissing him passionately and any protest he might have been harboring against her impatient behavior disappeared immediately. Raven was certainly demanding. But sheloved to be in controland was subservient to none. He provoked another knee-jerking moan from her as his hands and lips played against her silken skin and he smiled inwardly, groaning as she grounded her hips against his again. Well, most of the time she was dominant. And most of the time he was only too happy to let her do as she desired after he initiated herpassion.

Robin's hands began to wander as he began tugging impatiently at Raven's towel, trying to loosen it so he could run his hands across the smooth, taut skin of her stomach. Raven suddenly pushed away him, her hand going to her towel as she clutched it desperately.

"No…" She panted breathlessly. She took deep breaths in an attempt to steady herself and stop her heart from beating so furiously. Robin also panted, his breath shallow. He resed his forehead against hers as she closed her eyes. She tried to bring her trembling body and emotions back under control. "No." She whispered once more, trying to convince herself, just as much as she was Robin.

Raven really hated it when he kissed her. She always became undone in his strong, capable arms. And she loved it. That's why she hated it. Yeah, she confused herself all the time. She pushed him away, as she tried to compose herself, her face flushed. "I think I need another shower." She murmured to the Boy Wonder who started to chuckle as he reveled in a moment of male satisfaction.

"I need one too." His eyes began to dance mischievously, unbeknown to the dark beauty. "Can I join you?"

Raven snorted, slapping his chest absentmindedly. "Riight…only in your dreams."

"I think you mean my wet dreams." He teased playfully, referring back to a previous conversation.

She nodded, rolling her eyes as she graced him with a small, amused smile. "Those too." It was simply amazing how comfortable two people could become with each other after being together constantly for two whole weeks. Not to mention love spells cast by mentally challenged, obsessive witches.

Yeah, that had nothing to do with it.

**§§§§**

"BEAST BOY!" An enraged shout rang out through the tower, the words laced with animosity and the promise of intense pain.

"Eep!" The green changeling squeaked in horror as he ran from the kitchen into the living, actually stumbling over the couch in his bid to get away from his executioner.

"Where to hide, where to hide…" Beast Boy muttered frantically under his breath, his eyes shooting around the room wildly like a cornered animal as he turned into a snake and slunk under the couch. He hoped beyond hope that his hiding space was not compromised. Inside his head, his chants soon became, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…"

"I'M GOING TO DECAPITATE YOU WITH THESE SALAD TONGS, HANG YOUR HEAD ON MY WALL AND THROW VERY SHARP OBJECTS AT IT!" Raven roared as she entered the living room, her eyes roaming almost feverishly over the room in her search for the soon to be extinct prankster. In her right hand she was clicking a pair of salad tongs dangerously, intent on causing horrible agony with them.

Cyborg, who had been playing video games, blinked once, then twice and simply stood up, walking away from the couch. Once he was at safe distance from which he could watch the show without the risk of harm to himself, he gestured calmly to the couch. "He's all yours." He stated blandly, barely hiding his amusement.

He didn't feel the least bit sorry for Beast Boy because most likely the little grass stain brought it all upon himself. It took a lot to set Raven off and if you do manage to do it…then well you deserve whatever retribution she decided to dish out to you. He just wondered what it was BB did.

Besides, this was a very welcomed change in the past two weeks. It was usually Robin she was screaming death threats at and the boy wonder running for his life. It was nice to have some variety.

"NOOOO!" He heard BB howl from under the couch. "YOU TRAITOR!"

Cyborg shrugged. "Hey man, you reap what you sow."

A grin born of evil itself, crawled it's way across Raven's face from the deepest and hottest pits of hell as she muttered her magic words and the couch was engulfed in black before it was levitated to the other side of the room, revealing a balled up Beast Boy, cringing and whimpering in terror.

He 'eeped' once more and hurriedly scrambled out of the way of a bolt of dark magic. He slowly backed away and almost screamed when he bumped in the windows behind him. He whirled around, terror stricken before he realized the threat was in front of him and not behind him.

Cyborg began to worry a bit. Maybe he had sent his green companion to his death sentence? With the look of dark promise dominating Raven's features and the mask of sheer terror Beast Boy had donned he wasn't completely sure he hadn't.

"You prepared to suffer?" Raven asked BB coldly as the windows behind the green titan suddenly exploded, showering the boy with small pieces of glass.

"No!" He pleaded, falling to his knees, his forehead pressed against the glass strewn carpet, the small, sharp pains no match for whatever detrimental torture Raven planned for him. "Please have mercy oh beautiful and benevolent mistress! I didn't mean to do that with your underwear."

That last comment made her eyes burn brighter and he whimpered in fear. It was never a good idea to remind an angry Raven as to why she was angry in the first place.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. He knew that the grass stain was desperate but that was going a bit too far. "Benevolent mistress?" He uttered under his breath, incredulously. He raised an eyebrow at that last part. What in the hell was the changeling doing with Raven's underwear? He definitely had a death wish. Maybe he should play interference, though. As much as he would hate to throw himself into the path of a raging, rampaging half demoness, he needed Beast Boy. The team was already short two members and who else would _try---try_being the operative word---to beat his high scores? Just as he moved away from the wall he paused.

"Now Raven, I believe he asked nicely." A voice behind Raven whispered as a pair of arms embraced her upper body, the couch crashing suddenly to the ground.

"Robin.." Raven growled, as effulgent eyes faded once more to amethyst. "If you do not release me you won't have to worry about family planning."

She wasn't too distraught about not having her powers because she really didn't need them to castrate the boy wonder. She still possessed a pair of perfectly functional salad tongs she threatened Beast Boy with. If only she could maneuver the clenched fist clutching the utensil so that it faced backwards…

Beast Boy whimpered imploring, hoping that Robin would deem it necessary to save his life. Robin merely lifted a brow in question, one side of his mask shooting up. As much as he was sure Beast Boy deserved whatever Raven was going to do to him, he didn't want her to kill the changeling. They were already short two team members, why make it three. "What did Beast Boy do now?"

Raven growled menacingly as kicked behind hoping to hit the Boy Wonder. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Robin, his position made it hard for her foot to make contact with any part of him.

"Behave now."

"Bite me!"

She felt his teeth scrap against the back of her neck and she yelped, body straining forward. She heard Cyborg stifle a laugh, the metal man being the only one who witnessed the action and she snarled at him too.

He actually bit her!

"Raven." He said sternly in a tone that brooked no argument although she could easily detect a smile within his voice. In response to his own reaction, he pressed his face against the back of her neck. His was only immune to her demands when he was touching skin and he wasn't when she demanded he bite her.

What in the hell was she, his dog? She still couldn't get her mind around the fact that he bit her.

Stupid Boy Wonder and the spell compulsion.

"GO to HELL! Better yet, take Beast Boy with you!" She hissed as she seethed, her eyes glaring daggers into the cowering boy in front of her, since she very well didn't have eyes in the back of her head to glare at with Robin. She took deep breaths to calm herself down. She usually wasn't quick to anger but Beast Boy had lit the proverbial fuse and Robin only made it burn brighter.

Robin simply sighed as he maneuvered a struggling Raven to the small set of stairs that encircled the living room. He sat down on the bottom one and sat Raven on the floor in between his legs and restricted her upper body with his arms, hugging her from behind. To restrain her kicking legs, he crossed his own over hers, effectively trapping them.

Beast Boy blinked as he stood up, eyeing the now forcefully subdued Raven cautiously as if Robin's precarious hold would suddenly diminish and he would have to once more flee for his life.

"Robin, let me go!" Raven growled as she struggled futilely to emancipate herself, no longer caring about controlling her anger.

Robin simply laughed into her hair, her eyes shooting sparks at hearing him find amusement in the horrid situation.

"Okay, okay." He said soothingly as he tried to smooth her ruffled feathers. "I apologize, now Beast Boy you apologize." He instructed him.

"S-sorry Raven, I'll never do it again, I-I s-swear." He stuttered as he looked at the empath fearfully.

"You see Raven? He apologized, now let it go. He's only Beast Boy. Don't let him of all people upset you."

Beast Boy glared at Robin indignantly. "What does that mean?"

Robin shot the changeling a sharp, pointed look that could have be interpreted as 'shut up before I let her mangle you and dispose of your dead carcass anyway she sees fit.'

Beast Boy gulped and shrank backwards. "My bad."

Raven could feel her anger slowly diminishing, despite her hardest attempt tohold onto it. Damn, she hated it when he was right. She sighed,relenting. "Fine." She muttered reproachfully. He was the only person she knew who could piss her off so thoroughly one moment and yet calm her down the next.

Robin smiled brightly, despite her deep growl. "Now promise me you won't hurt Beast Boy if I let you up."

"Oh, it's not Beast Boy you have to worry about." Raven uttered rebelliously under her breath. Honestly, she was not a child in need of reprimanding and especially not from him.

"What was that?"

"I said 'Ok I won't knock Beast Boy all about.'" She lied seamlessly. "Now let me go."

"And you can't hurt me either."

'Damn.' She swore silently to herself, a barely discernible pout pasted on her features. However, if someone had mentioned such at a later date, she would have glared them into silence. She, Raven, did not pout. "Who said anything about hurting you?" She asked defensively.

"No one, but you forget I know you. You were definitely thinking it. And don't try to deny it."

She closed her mouth.

"Fine." She uttered after a few seconds of silence passed.

"Fine what?"

"I won't hurt any male currently under this roof." She huffed impatiently, making sure to be very precise. Hopefully, he wouldn't catch on until it was too late. "Now…let me go."

Robin released her without comment, wondering what Beast Boy could have possibly done with Raven's underwear and if he should have allowed her to maul him.

Raven shot Beast Boy a quelling glare and turned around to flash Robin a triumphant grin. He simply raised an eyebrow in question.

"I promised not to hurt any of you under this roof. But once you leave this tower…your ass is mine!" She smiled, her dark eyes promising pain before she whirled around and sauntered sanguinely from the room.

Her chilling expression sent a shiver down the spines of every male in the room including Cyborg who had nothing to fear from the dark girl's threat. Beast Boy and Robin passed worried glances at each other.

They were so dead.

**§§§§**

**Demon Heritage excerpt:**

A small breath of air escaped Raven as Robin's limp body was torn from on top of her and thrown across the room. She weakly raised her head from her pillow to gape at her intruder vapidly, too physically and mentally exhausted to do much but stare lackadaisically at the strange interloper. The woman was an Amazon, standing at the very least six feet tall as dull red eyes gleamed in the dusky, morning light. Long white hair swept back into a low ponytail fell to her boot clad ankles and her clothing was black, tight and form fitting. Cold, calculating eyes glared down at her, the perturbing combination of contempt and puzzlement reflected in the depths.

"Ravena Illiana Scathe, Destroyer and Heir of Trigon the Great, I challenge you for your position as Demoness of the House of Scathe and the Guardian of the Eighth Circle of Hell.. If you should lose, you forfeit your life and your claims. Do you accept?"

Raven gaped at the woman, her nearly overwhelming fatigue pressed to the background briefly. She knew that this woman was not an ally from her statement and that alone pressed her to stay awake. 'Are those horns?' She thought faintly, her eyes wide.

"_What_ do you want? Wait, scratch that, who in the _hell_ are you?"

≈§≈§≈§≈

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is an answer you will have to wait for.

I'd like to thank the following awesome people: _evilsangel_, Ravenwouldplaylax, _Poison's Ivy_, SanzoGirl, _Monito_, Cherished18, _HauntedWhisper714_, Peppertip, _lolopixie_, Iris Night, _Queen_ _Rae_, insensato, _Sleeping_ _Soundly_, raerob4ever, _Daybreak25_, Twilight Sazuka, _K.C. Raven_, they are ghouls, _alena_-_chan_, Mutilated Bliss, _Zarola_, Naughty89, _Minalicious_, mercuriancat, _PurPleDoUGHnuts_, Tecna, _iRebel_, i love it, _Mystery_-Bliss, xxpUnK-rOcK-cHiCk02xx, _Cherry Jade_, Ace234, _Koga's biggest fan_, shianaro, _Sleepy-not-Dopey_, RaeVin, _lily416_, The Blackest Darkness,_SweetNCrazieSugarmuffin_, utopia, _Confused Goddess_, Eris Dea Disaccordo, _Orchidaceae_, Jashire 486, _Mewraven_, Spirit Ayumi, _Female Fox Demon_, the. dead. addict., _firemage15_, dellacouer, _SekurtaxKentetsu_, Schwaa, _walker-in-shadows_, PersonaJXT, _serenity77_, demonafrit. I LOVE YOU ALL! THANKS FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME!

This chapter was a bit serious, a bit humorous and a bit fluffy/limey. I guess I like it. Okay, I lied. It's not my favorite chapter although I can't find much wrong with it. Maybe it's just writing the lime that makes me anxious, to be completely honest. Anywho, the next chapter should be up pretty soon. Once again, I really do apologize. (Gets down on knees and begs profusely for forgiveness)

After this chapter, things will become a lot more serious. I really can't foresee much more humor in the plot, but you guys know how obsessed I am with humor, I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere... Don't forget to review!

_Spread your wings and fly...Butterfly_


	10. Trouble Finds A Way and Reconciliations

Disclaimer: I forget to do these a lot. Nope, don't own Teen Titans

This chapter wasn't exactly hard to write but I changed my mind about a bazillion times. I mean, I dickered around with this chapter a lot. A LOT. I still don't like certain fragments but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get them to fit the way I wanted. I hope everyone isn't eternally pissed at me at the delay between updates. I won't even begin to regale you all with tales of my extreme busyness. Anywho, enjoy this chapter.

**Love Potion **

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter Ten: Trouble Finds A Way/Reconciliations**

Raven sighed as she entered the tranquility of her room. Although she was still a bit mad at Beast Boy, she was suddenly provided with some quiet time away from Robin. The two boys would probably avoid her like the plague for awhile, something she planned to take complete advantage of. They would probably assume she was going to be in her room the whole time. The only one that would be able to tell that she was gone would be Robin and her destination was not too far from the tower.

She mumbled her words before she was engulfed in the black form of a raven and flew through the walls of the tower and out into the bright of day.

Raven drew in a sharp breath and held it momentarily as she touched down outside a small store. She could already feel the absence of Robin in her heart. A hand flew to her chest as if attempting to stem her heart's erratic pulsing. Concentrating, she closed her mind to him, the acute pain receding to a dull throb. She didn't have to worry about Robin being in any pain because she was moving away from him, not the other way around. He didn't have to worry about any retribution.

"Stupid curse." She mumbled distractedly as she entered the eerie coolness of the dark store.

It was small, dark and dusty, filled with books of every size, description and type. The dim lighting barely allowed one to read the title of the book, much less anything else. The books were arranged neatly by category and author, the books more pleasing to the eye in front, the darker ones towards the back. Raven bypassed them all, eyes trained on the desk at the back of the room where the checkout counter was placed. She ignored the irrational pull that subtly demanded her to return to the brighter, friendlier streets.

When she had traversed the store, she rang the small bell there a total of four times, each ring evenly spaced. A small, slightly bent over man shuffled over. "May I provide you with some guidance?"

Raven ignored the odd way in which the question was worded, it was what she expected. Her eyes studied the decrepit form in front of her as he did the same to her. He was old, no younger than eighty. A few wisps of gray hair covered his bald, spotted head. He wore a long robe of nondescript brown which seemed dingy at best in the poor lighting. She noticed that if he weren't hunched over as he was he would have easily stood taller than her, but that wasn't saying a lot considering that she wasn't all that tall but on the smaller side of height. A large nose dominated his face and thin lips were pursed together waiting for Raven's reply. However, his eyes were the most prevalent of all his features. The pupils were black pinpoints of darkness in a sea of blue-white.

Raven replied clearly, "I could use a bit of your help, but I require Xavier's as well."

With quick words she departed to the man what she needed. The old man gave her an appraising look and then smiled, displaying a few jagged teeth and inflamed gums to the world as he shuffled away for a few minutes. When he returned, he pressed a small vial into her hands and gave her a wink. "On the house."

Nodding her thanks, Raven stepped aside so he could move around her.

"Follow me please."

Falling in line behind him, she proceeded through the doors and into a dark corridor. The corridor was familiar to her, six, plain wooden doors lined it, three evenly spaced on each side. At the end of the passage was a seventh door. She remembered when she first entered the bookshop, and in turn, the door at the end of this passage and met the man known to her as Xavier.

She had been standing in front the bookstore one day, her head tilted to the side slightly as she examined the small shop. The image of the store seemed to waver as a street would during a heat wave. But the image wasn't distorted; no, the image changed into a completely different one. The first time she passed it, she paid it no mind, no one else seemed to either. In truth, a part of her felt compelled to not look twice at the obscure place. However, something else, another part of herself was drawn to it and she paused in front of it, examining it with a mild curiosity as she tried to see if the change was caused by some sort of illusion. The building was abandoned, the windows cracked and streaked with dirt. A sign announcing the name of the shop was stationed above the door, hanging in tatters of twisted black plastic. Blood red words interrupted the monotonous flow of ebony irregularly, spelling words she couldn't begin to decipher because of the ruinous state of the sign.

After her eyes scrutinized the dilapidated building for a few minutes, Raven came to the deduction that most likely it was her mind playing tricks on her. After all, it was a scorching day.

As she turned to go, she blinked and the image changed once more.

Raven halted again, a frown of bemusement marring her face as she contemplated the building once more and her own state of mind. Was she going crazy? She shook her head. That couldn't have been it. She sighed. The only way to solve this problem was to ask someone else and question them about what they saw.

She stopped a motherly, middle-aged woman and said politely in her monotone, "What do you see when you look at this building?"

The woman looked at her for a few seconds, and then looked towards the building. Her gaze swiveled back towards Raven and a look of concern passed over her features. "Are you okay dear?"

Raven refrained from rolling her eyes. It seemed terribly un-Raven-like. "Yes, thank you for your concern. But I would like to know what you see when you look at this building."

The woman's face scrunched up unattractively, still a bit bewildered as to why this young lady wanted to know what the building looked like when she could clearly see for herself. "It's old and abandoned, I guess. The windows are filthy and the sign is destroyed." She concluded, as she peered at Raven. "Is that it dear?"

Raven nodded. "Thank you for your time."

The woman began to walk away but paused, turning back towards Raven. "Maybe you should go home dear, I believe it would do you good to get out of this heat."

Raven tried to smile politely but the corners of her mouth wouldn't lift. The woman waited expectantly and Raven nodded to placate her. The woman nodded in return before turning around once more and becoming lost in the crowd.

Great, now a complete stranger thought that she was as crazy as she beginning to fear she was becoming. She thought aggravated. Well maybe if she explained what she saw to another person then maybe they would see it too? She shook her head, telling herself how crazy it sounded but she did it anyway.

This time it was a young businessman, who complied impatiently as he made exaggerated motions of looking at his watch.

"Could I describe this building in front of us to you?"

He looked at her strangely until he realized she was completely serious. He sighed in irritation.

"Fine then, hurry up, I don't have all day."

Raven went into a detailed description of the place, describing the clean, sparkling windows and the books and odd knick knacks displayed within them, to the obsidian sign hanging above the door which read in blood red letters: Xavier's Books with 'and other assorted items' as a subtitle.

The man looked at Raven as if she were completely out of her mind. His stupor soon turned to a glare of disgust. "I don't know what is wrong with you, but you just wasted my valuable time. Go save a cat out of a tree or something if you have nothing better to do." After throwing another disgusted look her way, he stomped away into the throng of human beings.

Raven dismissed him from her thoughts without a glance as her eyes took in the store in front of her.

Was she really seeing things? Maybe that was what the store looked like in the past? She frowned then. But she had never had that ability before.

"You're not seeing things you know. Take a step inside if you dare." A hoarse voice from beside her announced.

Her head swiveled towards the voice and next to her stood a stooped figure, completely covered from heed to toe with a brown robe.

Raven looked at him as if maybe he were senile. It had to be one hundred and three degree weather and he was completely covered up. But she couldn't say all that much either even though the weather didn't affect her as much. "Pardon me?"

"Go on inside." He gestured towards the door, and her eyes followed. When she turned back to look at the figure she paused, only to find that he had vanished.

She turned back towards the building and stepped resolutely through the doors, finding the odd man from before, smiling toothless at her from the back of the room.

Raven shook her head, bringing her awareness back to her surroundings. When she had asked why only she could see the shop and no one else, the old man responded with the answer that only supernatural creatures could see the shop or those who were aware of its existence. The demon in her allowed for her to see it, even though she had no prior knowledge of it.

That was when she had been introduced to Xavier for the first time.

"Right through here, Raven." the elderly man said as he pointed her through the last door at the end of the corridor.

"Thank you Duncan." Raven nodded her thanks before opening the door and slipping into the room. She didn't bother knocking; Xavier would know it was her when she first touched the doorknob outside of the shop.

"Hello, Raven." A tall, slim man turned towards her and strode gracefully across the room, greeting her with brief hand to the shoulder. Perfect, white teeth flashed out at her and bright jade eyes winked at her. He wore a black business suit casually, the jacket draped over the back of a chair, leaving his broad shoulders clad in only dark blue silk.

Raven nodded, a small smile lifting her lips. "Xavier. How are you?" Xavier was the only other half demon she knew. Whenever she required spell ingredients or advice, she usually came to this quiet dusky store, building the foundation for a friendship that only grew stronger over time. He was one of the few true friends she had outside of the Teen Titans.

She felt affection for him, but it was purely platonic. And she wouldn't mention that tiny crush she had on him before.

"I am well. But I can sense that you are not." Xavier answered. His specialty was sensing auras and different types of magic, the perfect person to run to with problems of a magical nature.

"Yes, I need to ask you a few questions. I kind of need your help."

Xavier smiled, his eyebrows lifting in mild surprise. Raven rarely asked for help. "Anything you need. Come. Sit down with me and tell me what this magic is that I sense." He directed her over to a pair of embroidered armchairs and sat down, motioning for her to do the same.

"Where do I start?" She muttered, as she straightened her cape.

"Well, starting from the beginning usually helps." Xavier remarked offhandedly as he sank into the cushions of the chair, resting his right ankle casually against his left knee.

Raven shot him a glare as she frowned. "Well, Jinx…you know the pink haired witch that works for Hive." She added when he raised a slim, black eyebrow in question.

"So this has to do with her does, it?" He paused a second to search his memory before replying. "She came here last week and bought a spell book and several weeks before then, she brought another one."

"Do you remember what she bought?" She questioned patiently, although she already knew one of the answers.

Xavier inclined his head slightly in affirmation, his black curls sliding into his face. He brushed them back with the absentminded air of one who had done so numerous times. "Emotional Spells. I remember because that was one of the more expensive books considering its age. The second one was a standard spell book about various spells." He paused a bit as he studied the dark girl in front of him. "Don't tell me she used the first one on you."

Raven shook her head. "It wasn't intentional. She had a crush on Robin and used it on him. I was the first person he saw when he awoke. I was just wondering if there was an antidote."

"Of course, let me ask Duncan."

As soon as the old man heard his name, he shuffled into the room, stopping before Xavier as he awaited his orders with a crooked, toothless grin on his face. Her head tilted to the side slightly at Xavier's and Duncan's quiet exchange as she tried to hear a snippet of conversation and the old man glanced at her, his eyes flashing completely black for a brief moment and then he was gone before she could she could ask what was going on.

Turning questioning eyes towards Xavier, he shook his head at her and she let out a breath of mild annoyance as she sat there, waiting for the elderly man to return with what she hoped to be the antidote, or at least something that would help her out.

Many minutes crept by before the stooped creature reentered the room, a large dusty tome carried carefully within his withered hands. Settling the book down gently upon a table against the wall, he flipped gingerly through the aged, yellowed pages, his eyes roving across the sheaves of parchment in feverant search. He 'humphed' in what Raven assumed was success or interest and she could not contain her curiosity any longer as she pushed herself to her feet and crossed the floor to look inquisitively over his shoulder.

"What?" She asked monotonously as if she didn't care for the answer, but was just humoring him like one would a child; however, her actions betrayed her as she peered around the man's thin shoulder, her eyes searching for whatever the octogenarian had found.

"It says here," he croaked out, his voice sounding like sandpaper, "that for the spell to be revoked, both participants must truly desire to be released from the spell."

Raven's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Well, that was never going to happen. However, a small part of her was elated by the news. Frowning, she squashed the emotion ruthlessly before it could become anymore than a fleeting thought.

"If he's under a love spell and _forced_ to _want_ me, then how could he possibly _want_ to be _released_ from it?" She questioned in irritation, as she straightened her shoulders and folded her arms across her chest, her cape draping her petite form.

"Well," Duncan began as he gently shut the book with a soft thud. "If there is another cure then, the original spell caster is sure to know of it."

She shook her head, closing her eyes with a sigh. "This situation sucks, no matter how you look at it."

Suddenly, she felt a pull deep in her chest. Now that getting the cure wasn't utmost in her thoughts, her mind was briefly clear, giving way to the deluge of emotions that struck her with unbelievable force. Drawing in a sharp breath through clenched teeth, her eyes suddenly shot open, amethyst orbs dancing with unseen amusement. "Thank you, Xavier and Duncan for all of your help."

Xavier kept his piercing green eyes on her as he spoke. "What are you planning to do?"

"I'm just going to have to beat the information out of Jinx, somehow." She shrugged slightly as her eyes twinkled mischievously. "But right now, I'm going to try to see if I can get to Robin before he burns a hole through my floor."

Xavier stared curiously at the spot where Raven was just standing as he spoke to Duncan, "You diagnosed Raven...what was your conclusion?"

"The book offered one solution...but from what I observed, the spell has twisted upon itself, no longer the exact same spell it used to be. In addition to that, what Raven feels is entirely her own, simply amplified."

* * *

Robin paced impatiently inside of Raven's dark room as he muttered to himself angrily. He tread back and forth across her plush carpet, jerking around suddenly once he came to the end of the rut his steel plated boots were quickly burning into the floor. 

"How dare she leave without telling me?! Not only is Jinx looking for her but it was completely irresponsible for her to not tell me!" Robin ranted loudly as the scowl on his face deepened even farther. His muttering reverted back to low growls as he continued to pace.

"It seems I'm too late." An amused voice materialized from the air.

He jerked around to see Raven perched on her bed, her face solemn. "Did you miss me?"

Did he miss her? Did he miss her! At the moment he was trying to decide whether or not to strangle her or kiss her to death. Either way she would end up dead. He felt a pang in his chest but ignored it in favor of glaring furiously at her.

Didn't she realize that she almost worried him to death?

He watched as she directed her gaze pointedly towards his feet and his glare followed. He winced as he noticed the floor. A strip of carpet had been worn down by his incessant pacing.

"I haven't been gone that long." Raven question was more of a statement as she brought her eyes up to stare into his mask.

Robin's scowl reappeared full force. "That long? THAT LONG! You've been gone for three hours! Not one, not two but three FREAKIN' hours!" He continued to rant for what seemed to be an infinity as Raven sat there calmly.

Raven counted to ten before saying slow, "Feel better?" She figured he had a couple of hours to simmer and she might as well let him vent it all.

Blinking at her, he took a second to actually think about it and was bemused at his realization. "Actually, yeah."

Raven rolled her eyes heavenward as if searching for divine help before she patted the space on the bed next to her. Robin didn't hesitate to claim it. "So where have you been? I was worried sick."

Raven's expression softened at his words, her anger at him from earlier completely forgotten. "Sorry, I had to consult a friend about the spell. And he said-"

"Wait a second. You spent nearly three hours with another guy?!" Robin asked incredulously, his anger quickly escalating until he was as mad as he was as soon as he realized Raven left. He felt Raven's absence as soon as she left the tower and he been worried. Only to find out that spent the entire time with another guy.

Raven sighed inwardly, as she felt the waves of anger almost suffocating her. 'Oh boy.'

"Look, he's someone I've known for years now, and no there's nothing going on between us. I'll admit I used to have a crush on him-" Robin's murderous expression darkened as his shoulders visibly stiffened and she mentally cursed herself for adding that part. "But I got over that a long time ago." She added hastily, hoping to placate him somehow as she grimaced internally at the look on his face.

"Besides, he found a way to help us reverse the spell-"

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Robin inquired bitterly as he stood up abruptly and turned his back to her, his hands clenched at his sides. "He probably only agreed to reverse the spell so he could have you."

Raven bit the inside of her bottom lip determinedly as she pushed back the beginning throes of anger. She had no idea what to say to make him feel better but this jealously was getting way out of hand. "Robin, it's nothing like that at all, I swear. He's only a fri-"

"Tell it to someone who actually cares." He bit out harshly before storming from the room, leaving Raven bewildered where she sat, the surprise on her face almost comical if it weren't for the situation.

She held back her anger back by a thin thread as she felt rather than saw the lamp beside her bed explode. She breathed deeply and slowly, mentally chanting her mantra. "He's being so...stupid!"

However, as of late when it came to him, her anger was quick to abandon her and she began to feel slightly off kilter by the unexpected turn of events. "Honestly, if he wants to act like a jerk then let him, who gives a damn?"

She tried to reason with herself as she failed miserably. She hadn't meant to upset him and she sure as hell didn't do anything wrong. But then why did she feel so horrible? She had never been on the receiving end of his anger. It was always the other way around, justifiably so.

Raven's eyes hardened as she strengthened her resolve. "Get it together Raven." She reprimanded herself harshly. She didn't do anything wrong. Besides, there was no way she was going to let Robin dictate her mood.

'_Not much, anyhow_,' a small voice whispered mockingly.

Ignoring it, she tried to occupy herself; as of late, she had become accustomed to being with someone else, despite her solitary nature. "I'll go to the mall with Starfire." She said half-heartedly. "That'll show him."

She flinched as she thought of the fighting the two were still doing. The brief thought of being blasted into their surrounding bay with a green starbolt quickly dashed any entertaining thoughts of the Tamarian princess. "Scratch that, I'm going no where near her."

A humorless snort escaped her as she mumbled to herself. "If I told her Robin and I had a fight she'd probably go throw a big bash and party until she fell over drunk on honey mustard."

"Maybe…nah. I still promised to kill him and I can't go back on my word." Raven muttered as her thoughts fell onto Beast Boy. Honestly, that would make her a hypocrite and then where would she be? "Probably not in jail." She uttered to herself.

The only person left was…"Cyborg," she said suddenly. "I'll go help him in the garage."

She paused for a second and listened as she sharpened her senses to search for her half metal companion. She could hear the chorus of 'booyahs' and 'dude you cheated!' coming from the living room and decided to forgo her decision to be with others. They'd probably just ignore her anyway she tried to convince herself.

Raven failed miserably.

Allowing gravity to take over and drag her backwards onto her bed where she settled comfortably into the softness of her feather mattress, she sighed. Robin was right, it really was comfortable...

She stopped her thoughts abruptly; couldn't she keep him out of her mind for a few seconds? Within the course of several seconds she had come full circle. "Stop thinking about him Raven." Raven dragged her hands over her face tiredly. "I don't need him, I don't need him…" She was still telling herself this when she drifted into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Robin growled silently to himself as he reclined against Raven's door, watching her toss and turn fretfully in her sleep. Which was probably all his fault. He didn't know why he blew up at her like that. She was just trying to help the both of them. He sighed wearily before staring at the carpet with a forlorn expression on his face. He really messed up and didn't know exactly how he would make it up to her and possessed not an inkling of clue to somehow repair this rife. 

Somehow, he didn't think kissing her until she lost her senses was at all appropriate for the situation.

He watched her turn again between her sheets, her graceful legs becoming entangled in the silken folds. Eyes closed against the image of Raven's bare legs, he let his head fall back to hit the metal with a small, barely discernible thud. He barely repressed the urge to smash his head backwards with more force. Maybe it would knock some sense into him. He didn't know whether he should climb into the bed with the dark goddess or not; after all, he did leave her abruptly on a sour note. Robin just couldn't bring himself to confront her or disrupt her sleep. He could feel his energy being steadily siphoned from him, as the strain of being away from Raven for too long caught up with him. His head began to spin and the floor seemed to be no longer beneath his body as it veered towards the right.

The Boy Wonder closed his eyes and gritted his teeth tightly against the feeling of vertigo and the sharp spikes of agony. It had to stop eventually. He gave a derisive snort. Yeah, he said that several hours ago too. Robin sighed quietly to himself after the painful fit passed. Honestly, he didn't know what had happened but he had a clue. Apparently, the green-eyed monster reared its ugly head but he usually tried not to let his emotions run him. He always tried to think ahead and assess the consequences to all of his actions. The only time he ever really let emotions run him was when Slade had driven him beyond his limits. But now his emotional stress levels were no where near such dire straits as then.

But he was still going crazy.

Damn hormones.

Raven shifted in her sleep and he started like a startled rabbit, his head shooting up and his eyes widening. His muscles froze in the universal fight-or-flight mode, as he prepared himself, waiting for Raven to either awake or drift back into a deeper level of sleep.

He wasn't even looking at the dark girl but he was so in tuned with her that he had been able to distinguish the exact moment when she nearly resurfaced to consciousness before floating gently back down into oblivion.

He had barely relaxed a fraction of an inch when Raven shot up in her bed, her eyes wide. Her breath came in and out in harsh pants, as their gazes locked and all fleeting traces of her nightmare became whispers of the past. Raven didn't say anything and neither did Robin as a million thoughts ran unbridled through their minds as they regarded each other intently. The tension in the room was palpable as Robin drowned in the violet hues of her eyes.

"Robin." She croaked, her voice slightly hoarse from sleep, disuse and most of all, uncertainty. Raven noticed and she cleared her throat immediately in a self-conscious manner. Inwardly, she frowned at herself. 'What the hell was wrong with her?'

Well, yeah other than the obvious.

Robin remained taciturn, uncertain of how to respond to her. She might have still been harboring feelings of anger against him. Although he couldn't feel anything malignant from the empath, he wasn't comforted much. Raven was an expert at stemming her emotions. He was wary and it showed.

Realizing the problem, Raven didn't think as she let her heart govern her actions and she held out her arms to him.

Robin didn't hesitate as he went to her, not stopping to think as he gathered her into his arms and whispered into her velvety hair. She reciprocated his embrace, her arms gripping him around his lean waist.

"I'm sorry Raven; I didn't mean anything I said. I-I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

"Obviously." Raven scowled into his chest. "You know Robin, your brain is a muscle, just like everything else in you body and if you don't begin using it, it will start to atrophy."

Robin winced. 'Ouch.' "I guess I deserved that."

Raven nodded empathetically. "You think?"

She had missed him so much and he had been away from her for only a few hours. The deep vibrations of his chest when he spoke and the soothing tenor of his voice comforted her more than she would have ever thought possible.

"So…" He started hesitantly, as he weighed his chances of getting the answer he wanted- no needed. "Am I forgiven?"

Raven nodded against his chest and felt him heave a sigh of relief, a ponderous weight lifting from his shoulders.

"I couldn't seem to breathe or think when I had learned that you were with another guy while I was here, worried sick about you." Robin mumbled into her hair as he inhaled and enjoyed the scent that was uniquely Raven.

"I know and I said I was sorry." She huffed.

"Let's just forget about the whole thing and sleep." Robin suggested.

Raven couldn't see his face but she heard the wicked insinuations in his voice and it sent a wave of heat through her. Her face screwed up in irritation. She really had to do something about dampening the effects he had on her poor body.

"That's a great idea Robin, _sleep." _She emphasized the word sleep, hoping he would comprehend that it would be the only thing they were going to be doing.

He sighed, capitulating to her demands. "Fine. _Sleep_." He mocked her with a smile on his face before pushing her off of his lap and lying down next to her. He adjusted the covers, pulling the silk sheets over them before gathering her back into his arms, her back pressed firmly against his chest. He rested his cheek against her neck and fitted his chin into the curve of her shoulder.

"I love you, baby." He breathed into neck, tightening his embrace as he threw his right leg over hers. Raven, who was well on her way to sleep, was jolted awake, her eyes wide seeming to take up half of her face as she paled. "Robin…"

She didn't receive a response; he was already softly snoring behind her. She shifted her legs so that his right leg was trapped between the two of hers instead, pining one leg instead of two. He always seemed to suffocate her while they slept, as if he were afraid that she would steal away during the night. But it was a pleasant, warm feeling that made her feel protected and wanted. She never minded after the first few days when it irked the hell out of her. Usually an active sleeper, she always turned and tossed while she slept. It was mostly the nightmares and the shadows that haunted her under the cover of night but since Robin began to sleep with her they've diminished gradually in intensity until they disappeared completely. However, that might have been because he was the subject of her dreams and nothing in them was remotely frightening.

Except maybe the intensity of them.

Robin mumbled some more in his sleep and Raven's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the fact that he said he loved her. She knew that he did because of the spell, but he had never said it before. For some reason this unthinking utterance made the spell more real. He loved her…but not for her.

A tear slipped down over her ear and disappeared into her hair. He wasn't hers. And somewhere in the past couple of weeks, she seemed to have forgotten that as she enjoyed his company and laughed with him. While she savored his kisses and slept peacefully beside him. Fought with him and then made up with him in the most delicious ways she could think of.

She had forgotten. And the thought that he wasn't hers made her want to scream until her voice was raw and she couldn't anymore. She wanted to run as far as she could, run until it didn't hurt anymore. Run until she dropped from exhaustion and couldn't think of anything but her weary body. But she knew she couldn't drown it out or run from it. And the truth was heart-wrenching. Somewhere along the way she had fall irrevocably and desperately in love with him.

And it had nothing to do with the spell.

As if he could feel her distress in his sleep, he pulled her closer and tightened his grip on her as he murmured some more into her hair.

His thoughtless act of love didn't help stem the flood as he had unconsciously intended but made it flow faster.

Her tears were silent but the turmoil in her heart was not. What was she going to do?

* * *

I was tempted, sooooo tempted. You guys have no idea. But I figured that I had let you wait too long already, so here's your second chapter. Isn't that nice of me? (Dodges rotten fruit) Don't answer that.

* * *

Robin woke up the next morning absolutely alone. Sleepily, he groped along Raven's side of the bed and ended up empty handed. The sheets were cold, indicating that she had been gone for a while. He sighed and pulled himself into a sitting position as he yawned and stretched before sliding to the end of the bed and standing up. 

He closed his eyes and felt around for Raven's aura. "Ah," he uttered pleased. "The kitchen…food." Suddenly his stomach complained loudly and his single track mind demanded subsistence for his body.

He concentrated and tried to think of the last time he had eaten. It was definitely yesterday and he remembered that lunch was a bit late due to the 'underwear' incident. He soon found out that the empath did indeed have a good reason to want to massacre the green shape shifter and he almost regretted not letting her accomplish it.

After a half an hour of threatening/pestering the changeling as to why he had become number one on Raven's death list, he did not like the answer he received. Beast Boy and Raven were in charge of lunch yesterday, that he knew. But what he didn't know was that the former had decided it would be a good idea to make a salad out of the latter's underwear. Hence the death threats with the pair of salad tongs and Beast Boy's abject, pants- pissing horror.

Robin couldn't help but snicker. As much as he didn't like what BB did, he couldn't alter the fact that he was a guy and it was slightly funny. But for the sake of his health, he would never even think that in Raven's presence.

He ran his hand half-heartedly through his wild hair, not even beginning to hope that such actions would help tame the unruly mass of keratin. Despite the amount of trouble it gave him and the staggering amounts of hair gel needed to keep it fashionably messy instead of just sloppy he would never consider cutting it. His hair was what helped to make him Robin, other than his ostentatious suit, mask and 'inflated ego the size of Russia'. That last bit was courtesy of a disgruntled Raven one day.

Besides, as much as Raven ran her fingers through his hair, she would surely kill him if he cut it.

Despite his loudly protesting stomach, he made a pit stop at his room to shower and put on fresh clothes, deciding to dress in black drawstring pants and a gray wife beater. What good was a crime-fighting uniform if he wasn't fighting crime? He was just pulling the shirt over his head when he wondered randomly, 'why exactly are they called 'wife beaters'?'

He shrugged his shoulders as the shirt settled into place. Did it really matter? Maybe the first guy who wore it looked cool while he was beating his wife and the fad caught on. Robin shook his head. "That really was a horrible thought." He murmured, amused as he exited his room, a few chuckles escaping him unintentionally.

Finally making his way downstairs, he walked into the kitchen at the exact moment Raven set down a plate piled high with French toast, bacon and eggs.

His stomach growled in appreciation and Raven raised an eyebrow in amusement. He smiled sheepishly before he sat and started to eat. However, the fork stopped halfway to his mouth and fell back to the plate with a muffled clatter. "Ummm..."

'Well, it looks okay,' he thought, as the food dropped from his fork and he used it to poke a sunny-side up egg.

Raven sighed in annoyance yet she wasn't going to hold his sensible caution against him as she replied, "I saved you a plate from breakfast. I didn't make any of it."

He smiled apologetically and tucked into the meal with gusto. He had being meaning to teach Raven how to maneuver in a kitchen and not burn it down. Maybe they could work on that later on.

"Smnhnks." He mumbled around a mouth full of syrup and French toast, a few pieces of half-masticated food falling from his mouth.

Raven's face wrinkled a bit in disgust as she shrank away. "Try that again, only not with a mouth full of food."

She waited patiently for him to swallow the food in his mouth. "Thanks."

She nodded before turning around and walking from the room. Since she had already finished her cup of tea and was not in the mood for breakfast, she was at a loss of what to do with her time until she felt Robin finally awaken. Before she was even out of the door Robin called out her name.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Raven stopped as she uttered under her breath. "To build up immunity." She was up until the light began peering in through her unclosed shades, contemplating the spell and her feelings for the Boy Wonder. She came to the conclusion that if her heart was to survive this then she needed to limit her contact with Robin to what was needed just for him to be comfortable. She didn't need to be comfortable.

"What?"

"To meditate." She really did plan on visiting Nevermore. Since this had all started, she really hadn't been able to do some deep meditation.

"Alright, I'll be in the training room if you need me." Robin informed her, although the information was superfluous. She could tell where he was located with her eyes closed.

She nodded though, "Go spend some time with the other Titans."

Anything to get him out of her hair.

He nodded, "Good idea."

* * *

Breakfast was the last time Robin had seen Raven and he was seriously beginning to worry. It was three in the afternoon and he had no idea where she was. He couldn't sense her presence and it was making him anxious. His first thought made him freeze in horror. Maybe the connection they had didn't work when she was unconscious or unaware of her surroundings. Then his thoughts began to quickly escalate and he became even more worried when he thought of her in trouble. He just about ready to call in the National Guard when he remembered she was meditating and if his speculations from before were true, then Raven wouldn't be aware or conscious, she would be in a trance of sorts. 

He calmed down fractionally and he allowed his breathing to return to normal. But he was still worried and would be until Raven showed up.

The only one home other than himself and Raven, he hoped, was Starfire. Beast Boy had dragged Cyborg along to the arcade and Cyborg went willingly, something about Mega Doom X premiering today.

Until Raven decided to show up, there would be nothing for him to do about it. He scowled angrily to himself, muttering about stupid curses and disappearing birds. He continued to do so despite the sharp pains he always received for bad mouthing Raven.

"Robin?" Starfire called out hesitantly, not sure if interrupting Robin's tirade was good thing.

He halted immediately and answered the redhead. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you would mind going to the mall of shopping with me since our other friends cannot be found."

He contemplated his answer and firmly threw away his urge to say no and that he wished to wait for Raven to reappear. It was a good idea and he really needed something to take his mind off of the absent female. He plastered on a small, insincere smile and responded, "Sure, just let me just change clothes."

Starfire clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Glorious!"

Robin shook his head and his small smile became genuine. He didn't realize how much he had missed the other's company. It would be good to spend some time with his friends. Between the constant missions lately and him spending most of his time with Raven he felt as if he didn't even know his team anymore. Thinking back, he cast aside the threat that Jinx posed to him and Raven. She hadn't attack or anything similar at least two weeks, so he should be okay right? Right. Besides, nothing had happened to Raven when she left without letting anyone know. Luckily for him, Raven had specifically told him to spend some time with the other titans so leaving the tower wouldn't cause him any discomfort or pain.

He changed quickly and they left in ten minutes.

* * *

"Robin! Would this not look glorious on friend Raven?" Starfire squealed excitedly. 

Starfire held up a mauve skirt composed of a light, flowing, gauze-like material that was a dark purple near the top and faded gradually as it went down, changing into light lavender at the asymmetrical hem. It was lightly decorated with amethyst sequins that were placed at random intervals.

As she brought it up to the light, shimmering with every movement, Robin couldn't agree more. "Why don't you buy it for her?"

Starfire bit her lip, chewing on it anxiously. "I do not know, Raven and I aren't on the terms of speaking to each other." She flushed slightly as she bowed her head in shame.

"I've been behaving like a blorgnag and I would not blame her if she no longer wished to be my friend." Her eyes began to glisten with tears.

"Don't say that. Raven is really upset over the fact that you are mad at her. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to listen to you." Robin told her gently, hoping she wouldn't start crying. He wasn't sure he could deal comfortably with crying women, much less a crying Starfire. Besides, tears on her face just didn't seem right.

Starfire peered at him through damp eyelashes. "Are you positive friend Robin?"

He grinned at her and nodded, barely taking in another breath before he was being squeezed nearly to death in Starfire's arm. "You do not know how joyous this has made me!"

"Ok Star." He managed to choke out before Starfire set him down on his feet again. He stumbled slightly as he regained his breath. Suppressing a groan, he winced as he assessed the damage.

None of his ribs were broken, maybe just cracked. Good.

"I shall make her the pudding of reunited friendship!"

Robin shook his head frantically, wishing to spare Raven from what would turn out to be a traumatizing experience. "The skirt will work just fine Starfire."

She looked at him strangely. "Are you certain? Because I am sure that the pudding will definitely make amends. It is tradition on Tam-"

"I'm positive. Raven will be thanking you feverently for just the skirt."

"If you are sure…" She trailed off.

At that moment, Robin felt Raven reappear, her presence slamming into him like a Mack truck going 120 mph. It sent a jolt through his system and he soon realized that he hadn't seen Raven in ten hours. His body craved her presence like a drug and it took every ounce of will he possessed not to return to tower immediately and get his fix.

"Star, let's go grab a couple of pizzas for dinner and head home?" He suggested, as he could feel beads of perspiration bead on his forehead. His need was hard to keep at bay as he wiped sweaty palms against his pants.

"That is another wonderful idea Robin!" Starfire beamed as she flew off to make her purchase.

Every second that passed in Starfire's brief absence seemed to last a minute, and every minute, an hour. Soon though, the alien returned and he breathed a sigh of relief. They could finally leave.

"Let's head to the Tony's Pizzeria, Pizza Palace has yet to recover from its last attack."

Starfire nodded, walked along side Robin as they exited the mall. She had been in turmoil for the past week, most of it concerning the one walking next to her and the one at the tower. Knowing that Raven never meant to hurt her didn't help to stem the pain from a bruised heart. It didn't take much to anger her, but once she was her famous Tamarian temper took over. After days of being hostile to Raven and not seeing Robin she came to the conclusion that she didn't feel for Robin as she did when she first came to the planet called earth. She didn't need his constant presence in her life after going with out. Sure she missed him, but she didn't have the same overwhelming need that she used to have when she wasn't with him. It was natural for her to become attached to Robin because he was the first person, not to mention male, that she befriended and she became dependent on him. Once she realized that her crush on him had long disappeared, regret seeped into her heart as she remembered the way she had treated her only girl friend.

She loved Robin but only as a brother, nothing more. Her heart felt so much lighter now at the aspect of making up with Raven that she floated along and didn't realize that she was no longer walking.

Containing a smile of genuine happiness became too much for her and laughter bubbled forth past her lips. "Is it not such a beautiful day?"

Robin grinned; the alien's effervescent mirth was contagious, he couldn't help himself. "You're in a good mood." He was glad. The whole week Starfire had been distant and austere. It was not like the sweet, gentle Starfire he knew and had grown to love in a sisterly fashion.

She nodded. "Let us return home swiftly!"

* * *

Robin and Starfire had just entered the tower when they were assaulted by loud noises coming from the living room. A cacophony of violent, wet, tearing noises and screams reached their ears and the two heroes barely exchanged a glance of worry before sprinting towards the living room. 

They both paused at what they saw. Apparently, the boys returned home with a new video game.

A very violent, bloody video game.

Robin shook his head, a small wry smile on his face as he turned to Starfire. "Raven's in her room if you want to go talk to her now." As much as he needed to see her, he wanted Raven and Starfire to make up even more. Raven didn't show it but Starfire's animosity towards her has upset her more than she thought it would. And he didn't like to see either girl upset. He could wait half an hour.

She shot him a questioning look, although she didn't ask how he knew. She thanked him profusely before flying eagerly towards Raven's room as fast as she could. Starfire cut the next corner leading to Raven's corridor sharply, barreling into the very person she was hurrying to meet, and both girls went careening wildly to the floor.

"Ow." Raven muttered emotionlessly. She raised her head, intent on murdering the person who knocked her to the ground when she realized that it was Starfire.

The alien stood in front of her, clutching a gift bag nervously in her hands. Raven raised an eyebrow at the anxiety flowing from the teen in waves. She disengaged the poor bag from Starfire's hands before she mangled whatever was in it. "Do you need something Starfire?"

This was the first time in weeks that Raven had been in Starfire's line of vision and did not feel any type of anger directed towards her.

"I…I would like to offer you my deepest apologizes for the way that I have been behaving. My behavior has been inexcusable and I've been acting like a blorgnag and…"

Raven smiled, before hushing Starfire. "I forgive you."

Starfire's eyes brightened significantly as they began to dance with mirth. "Glorious!" She pulled Raven into a hug and the smaller empath didn't even wince once she was released.

"I have brought you something to demonstrate how truly sorrowful I really am."

"Oh Starfire," Raven began to protest. "You didn't have to get me anything."

A bemused expression quickly befell her. "Would you prefer the pudding of renewed friendship? Robin had convinced me that this present would be enough but I-"

Raven wasn't able to repress a wince this time as she grimaced and swiftly waved her hands in a dismissing manner. "Well, I won't have you go through the trouble of making me something when you obviously brought me a gift." She would have to reward Robin later. But she highly doubted that she could ever repay him with something possessing the same magnitude.

Starfire beamed happily at Raven and the young half demoness examined the package in front of her critically as the awaiting alien bit her lip in anticipation of Raven's response.

The package was a midnight blue, rectangular package. The woven handles were somewhat frayed from Starfire's less than delicate handling. Violet tissue paper erupted from the mouth of the bag, gently cradling the gift that Starfire had thoughtfully picked out for her. Knowing the alien's still limited view of Earth customs and styles, Raven was a bit worried at what might be in the bag but she determined to accept it graciously.

Raven held the bag up with her powers as she dug into it, pushing purple paper to the side in her search for her gift. Her eyes widened as she pulled out the skirt, and held it up to the minimal lighting of the hallway. "It's beautiful, Star." She breathed lightly, watching it sparkle dimly. "Thank you!"

She brought the skirt down and held it against her waist as she peered downwards, examining the effect as best she could without possessing a mirror. Normally, she couldn't care in the least about fashion but truthfully, the skirt was very nice and she had to admit that it was something she wouldn't mind wearing every now and then. Besides, Star had taken the time to pick it out for her and she just couldn't throw it into the bottom of her closet, never to be seen again.

"You really like it?"

"Of course." As if to prove her statement, she pulled the shocked, but overjoyed alien into a brief hug.

"I am happy that you are happy." Starfire said truthfully, the sparkle that had been absent from her eyes in the last couple of weeks returning full force.

Raven smiled. She hadn't realized how much she missed Starfire until she was gone. Things were finally getting back to normal. Now her only problem would be saying goodbye to Robin when the time came.

The alarm jumped to life suddenly, blaring loudly as it seemed to voice the panic that was viciously riding the city at that moment.

The two girls looked at each other, their quiet reunion destroyed. They smiled at each other before both flying off to the briefing room. The boys were obviously already there and the statistics were moving rapidly across the screen as picture after picture popped up, only to be covered by pieces of information.

Raven's eyebrow rose in alarm as she looked at the celerity at which everything was occurring.

"What's going on?" She asked, the worry evident in her voice.

Robin continued to scrutinize the information, his hands moving swiftly across the screen and the small keyboard at his fingertips.

Cyborg answered her instead. His tone was grave and Raven's worry sky rocketed. "It looks like someone threw a party for every villain we've ever known. The prison has been breached and prisoners are pouring out faster than the computer can keep up with."

Her alarmed eyes swept to the screen as Cyborg updated her on what was happening. So far, "It looks like we will be needed after all."

Everyone knew who she was talking about. Robin's lips pressed together sharply as he tried not to let his excitement override his judgment and clarity. He should be showing more severity to the situation at hand, but he couldn't help the tightening of his stomach nor the butterflies at the promise of action.

Cyborg looked intently at Robin, mechanical eye gleaming as if calculating something. "Can I trust you to not be distracted by Raven?"

Robin shot him a withering glare, his hackles immediately rising after what he deemed an attack on his skills. "Yes you can, as if you have a choice at this point anyway."

Cyborg retained his cool calculating stare as he responded to Robin's hot retort. "Well, then I'll separate you guys just in case."

"The hell you will!" Robin exploded, his jaw tensing. The thought of being away from Raven raised every instinctual red flag he had and his body tensed as he prepared to fight Cyborg on the subject. "As eager as I am to jump into that fray and start kicking ass, I will not be doing it without Raven."

"How can you be expected to concentrate with Raven beside you?"

"How can I not?" Robin countered angrily. "If she's not with me then I will worry about her and not be able to focus anyway!"

Cyborg stood stoically refusing to budge on the situation as he looked into Robin's mask. "Can you promise me that if something happens to her while fighting that you will trust her to take care of herself?"

"No, but I can promise that I'd do better with her in my sight than without and having to spend every second away from her worrying." He fired back stubbornly and honestly. The two continued to glare at each other.

Raven sighed as her slim fingers caressed her aching forehead. Guys and their testosterone battles.

Honestly.

"As much as I love being the topic of such a rousing debate can we pretend, just for a second, metaphorically speaking here, that there _are_ criminals ripping Jump City apart. But why should even begin to care, it's not like we're _superheroes_ or anything absurd like that. But of course I'm just speaking metaphorically...not like that could possibly be happening right this second."

Both males shot glares her way. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Jeez, was all the animosity necessary? She was just trying to remind her bickering teammates that they had a job to do.

"Look," Robin said, his irritation coloring his voice. "Some villains will be powerless on account of the fact that we possess all of their weapons. Who does that include?"

"Well, other than the rapists, drug offenders, murders, abusers, pedophiles and other assorted lowlifes," Beast Boy started sardonically, a scowl deepening across his face. "There's Control Freak, Mumbo Jumbo, Mad Mod…umm."

"What about Dr. Light?" Starfire inquired.

Everyone's eyes strayed involuntarily towards Raven and she shrugged, a small humorless, knowing smile twisting her lips.

"He…shouldn't prove a problem."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Jump City Prison… 

Utter chaos had broken loose as red lights whirled, and the deafening alarm pierced the din of shouts of panic and glee that saturated the air as villains chose that exact moment to escape and either get revenge or as far away from Jump City as they possible could.

Mumbo Jumbo ran doggedly for the exit as he was swept into the unrelenting tide of escaping villains. He passed an open cell door and paused, almost run over. Fighting against the tide to make it back to the cell, he pushed through the doors with a gasp and fell onto the floor. Looking around the seemingly deserted cell, he noticed that the flash of white that he had seen before was a uniform. Inside that uniform was a figure crouching in the corner, his legs pull up and his arms wrapped around them as he rocked in a decidedly insane manner.

Mumbo raised a puzzled eyebrow as he observed the pathetic creature in front of him. "Dr. Light?" He questioned. He honestly didn't care about the worthless, third-rate villain. He was just innately curious, after all he was magician. "What are you still doing here?"

Dr. Light raised his head and peered at his visitor. "You guys aren't gonna get away with it." He muttered somberly, a hint of insanity coloring his tone as his eyes widened in fear. "I can't be gotten if I stay here."

Mumbo snorted. If everyone believed that then there wouldn't be villains. "What the hell are you afraid of?"

Dr. Light said only one word and with that word he conveyed the horror that had dominated his existence and stolen his sanity.

"Raven."

Mumbo gave him an appraising look. "I guess she defeated you too, but there's nothing to fear."

Dr. Light shook his head, refusing to listen any longer as he drowned out the world with his idiotic, psychotic mumbles.

Mumbo shrugged his shoulders; there was nothing he could do for the poor sap. He turned around and leaped back into the unrelenting stream of evil doers.

He could hear the screams of the deranged Dr. Light trailing him in the madness of the prison break. "STAY OUT OF THE DARKNESS! SHE'LL GET YOU THEN! SHE'LL GET YOU ALL! BUT SHE WON'T GET ME AGAIN!"

The lights suddenly shorted out and an ear-deafening, horrified scream could be heard ringing through the prison, lost among the din of the escapees.

* * *

"ROBIN GET DOWN!!!" Raven screamed as she yanked her hands up, a piece of timber following the swift movement, and sweeping his feet out from under him with it. He hit the ground hard on his back and let out a yelp. The black engulfing the lumber disappeared immediately after touching him but it completed its purpose and the bolt of pure, deadly energy sizzled harmlessly over his head. 

Robin watched it pass over his face with wide eyes. Placing his hands on the ground to both sides of his head, he simultaneously pushed and kicked upward, using the momentum to swing to his feet immediately. Turning around, he viewed the gaping hole the energy made in the building behind him. It was five feet in diameter.

He gulped. "Thanks Raven."

Raven huffed, irritated. "Thank me by staying alive and making sure my actions aren't pointless!" Mentally she was screaming, 'Stop staring at me and pay attention!'

As if he had heard her thought, he shot her a wicked smile full of insinuations. "But you look so sexy when you get all hot and sweaty."

Raven's glare bore holes into him, as she willed them to be bigger than the one still smoldering behind him. His eyes widened in apprehension, and his lips parted a fraction before she whirled around and struck out with her right boot. A groaning inmate hit the ground.

Robin's warning died on his lips.

Raven turned back towards him, fire dancing in her eyes as she snapped at him. "Robin if you want to stay alive beyond tonight then I suggest you stop bothering me and deal with your villain. Who is right about now aiming his ridiculously large gun at your overblown head. It shouldn't be too hard for him to actually hit it."

Robin's eyes widened and he dived to the right just into time to avoid an even bigger blast than the last one.

He sprinted towards the villain and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head before he could reload another shot.

"I thought you said they would be powerless oh fearless leader." Raven remarked dryly as she stopped several daggers being hurled at her in mid air. She quickly dispatched three more men and tied ten together with a broken street lamp pole.

Robin shrugged. "What can I say, they're innovative."

He ducked as a cross between a rubber duck and an unraveled clothes hanger whistled sharply over his head, clipping a few strands of hair.

"Very innovative apparently." The empath remarked dryly, frowning as Robin felt the cropped area gingerly. She loved his hair, although the chances of her ever admitting that out loud were slim to none.

She felt a pang in her heart as she harshly reminded herself that he wasn't hers and never would be. As soon as this was over, he would probably run straight to Starfire and out of her arms but probably, to her utter vexation, never out of her heart.

Robin grinned sheepishly and with a wild cry he jumped, kicking and punching back into the fray. He had been kept idle for far too long.

Raven winced as he took out three men with a twisting, aerial kick. He was seriously having way too much fun.

* * *

Yeah, I posted this at 1:09 in the morning...please excuse any and all manners of horrible grammar errors. Gracias. 

I hope everyone enjoyed these chapters. Don't forget to review!

Oh, and one more thing. I'm sure I mentioned it a time or two before but seriously, check out and review, **The Chronicles of the Underworld: Breaking Point by **_**theplanetmary**. _It's in my favorites and I swear you'll not be disappointed. Excellent and original plot, superb characterization, hilarious as hell, witty and thoughtful dialogue, and it's a HP/TT x-over with a twist (especially check it out if you're a Draco fan and even if you're not shrugs couldn't hurt). It's definitely not getting the recognition it deserves. I can guarantee you'll find nothing else like it on the web and it's an absolute delight to read, far superior to my own work (Yeah, not ashamed to admit it). It is a sequel though so you might want to read the first one. Raven/Robin, of course.

Ok, I lied. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter...I still can't believe I broke 400 reviews. You peeps are the best!!!

And Happy Belated New Years!!! My New Years resolution is to actually finish a fic this year...I have about eleven months to work with...let's see how I do, shall we?

* * *

_Spread your wings and Fly…Butterfly _

1/20/07


	11. Revenge isn't so sweet

A/N: Just so you guys know, I feel really horrible about this chapter. The lateness, the shortness, the crapiness. Everything. I'm just so majorly unhappy with some parts of this chapter that I don't really know where to begin. But I'll start with saying that I had grand plans for this fic that I'm ashamed to say that I'm cutting short. My interest and time available to donate towards it has dwindled so I am wrapping this up. But don't fear. I will finish it. I estimate about three or four more chapters. Then I'm cutting it loose. I have plenty of ideas for other fics but I'm in my first year of college and I just got a job and physics is kicking my ass but all in all, I will see about that as well. Oh, and just so you know, I majorly **SUCK** at fighting scenes. There you have it. You have been warned.

Disclaimer, don't own it.

I just wanted to take a moment and shout out **Little Creature**'s **Promised II** which she just got up over the weekend. If anyone here has read her first installment then you know how absolutely stoked I am that she got this up. It is in part why I'm updating myself. SO, you guys must thank her by reading and reviewing. Moving on...

((Why won't this space correctly?))

LOVE POTION

BY AMBER MYST

CHAPTER 11: REVENGE IS NOT SO SWEET

((LP))

((LP))

((LP))

Jinx surveyed the damage below her with an air of immense satisfaction, similar to the languid gratification of a feline with a bowl full of cream. A detrimental smirk curved its way onto soft lips and her pink eyes glazed over thoughtfully as she contemplated the on-going success of her strategic prison break. Unleashing a legion of high profiled criminals from the high security prison upon the unsuspecting citizens of Jump City was, as high security implies, not easy. However, between Gizmo's genius and her own brand of magic it was made possible. As she had gleefully anticipated, a prison break of this magnitude was more than enough to drawn all of the Titans from their hole, mainly the birds.

All in all, she couldn't have been more pleased if she were the one down their causing all the destruction. A sharp shake of her head dismissed the thought immediately as a lie. She would be more pleased if she had Robin by her side to look down upon the destruction with her. He wouldn't be there by his own volition of course, but with the right…persuasion once he was hers he would do anything she demanded of him.

Anything.

Jinx fairly hummed in anticipation as her eyes glowed with a feverish exhilaration.

Tonight, she would succeed where innumerable others have failed and not only destroy the Teen Titans but control the fate of Jump City.

Only a slight problem marred her elation and it manifested itself in the knitting together of her brows and the now downward tilt of her gray lips. "Where is that giant idiot?"

A slim foot tapped in irritation as she heard small, swift footsteps approach from behind her. Stiffening as she felt the eyes boring into her back, she growled as she whirled around. "What the hell do you what Gizmo?"

Her anger made her impatient and she did not time for the idiosyncrasies of the mini nerd as she pointed out scathingly. "You're supposed to be with Mammoth."

"Keep your panties on." He replied and if she had been paying any attention to him she would have noticed the fidgeting fingers and darting eyes. She gasped as he did something next that took her completely by surprised. Grasping her hand in his, his thumb gently circled her palm in an intimate motion that made her inwardly cringe.

She stared blandly at their clasped hands, blinking, the only function other than breathing her body was able achieve at that moment. The shock racing through her system was almost enough to repel the revulsion she felt.

Almost.

"Ok, now what the fuck are you doing?"

He flinched but he didn't release her hand. "I-I just wanted to say that…I think that this whole idea is not a good one and that I l-"

His whole confession was cut short by the derisive laughter erupting from the girl he was about to confess his love to. He gawked at her and his anxious, nervous expression fell, morphing into absolute desolation, as he felt his heart crumble into dust blown away by her scornful laughter. He flinched in response to every laugh that floated from her lips, every sound of jocularity landing like a blow across his heart, each one more excruciating than the last, twisting and mutilating what remained of his affection for her.

"You-you're joking you have got to be…thanks, it's just what I needed. God, I was really tense." Her shoulders were still shaking with unreleased mirth and her lips twitched every few seconds. Her dancing eyes did not actually take in his crestfallen expression for what it really was.

He tried his hardest to school his face into a mirthful expression but his smile seemed more like a grimace than a reaction to a humorous joke. "N-no problem." The destitution underlying the forced tones of humor in his voice were undetected by the laughing witch and he slunk out of the room as quietly as he could, his salty, bitter tears reflecting his new feelings for the delighted girl that had crushed his heart.

* * *

Cyborg sighed as he powered up his arm cannon to the next level and swept it across the street, taking out the group of prisoners that were rushing him. They were all blasted backwards and hit the ground unconscious. 

"Is that most of them?" He asked Starfire, who was swooping about gathering escaping inmates. When she had two, she dropped them dutifully in a cage. It was more of a pen made of laser bars, its diameters approximately forty feet by thirty with the bars reaching heights of fifteen feet. It was one of Cyborg's more ingenious ideas. This way, the Titans wouldn't have to worry about the escapees that they had already apprehended. He only had one so Robin and Raven would have to restrain their prisoners in another manner.

The alien nodded her head, "Yes, most of them in this part of town."

Cyborg growled quietly to himself. They had been out there for about 2-3 hours and the stream of villains didn't seem to be dwindling.

"Where is Beast Boy?" Starfire asked as she hovered above Cyborg's head, her own head whipping from left to right in search of their absent green teammate.

A small frown marred his lips as he scanned the destruction around him. His mechanical eye spotted a patch of green and zoomed in on it. He sighed again, this time with exasperation as he walked over to it and found Beast Boy drooling in a storefront display. He was staring, wide eyed with admiration, at the piece of mechanical perfection standing in front of him.

"Can I have it?"

This time Starfire frowned. "That would be stealing Beast Boy. Shame on you."

"But no one would known, I mean look at how destroyed this street is. Besides it would replaced the awesome moped I lost saving this city. It's just my pay back for risking my fabulous moped you know." He argued although his green eyes never left the gleaming, two-wheeled machinery.

Starfire shook her head. "I am sorry Beast Boy but that would be morally and lawfully wrong and I can not allow you to commit such acts as theft. I would be forced to arrest you would I not?"

"But..." Beast Boy opened his mouth to talk before Cyborg interrupted him.

"No Beast Boy, didn't I tell you to keep an eye out on the birds?" He stepped up to Beast Boy and slipped in the small lake of drool that had gathered beneath Beast Boy's feet. "Ugh!" He exclaimed as he grabbed onto Beast Boy's shoulder to balance himself. The young teen 'eeped' at the sudden pressure on his shoulder and turned into a bird, flying from beneath Cyborg grasping fingers.

Cyborg yelled out in shock as his arms shot out and Starfire grabbed them before he could hit the ground. She moved her half metal companion out of the spittle onto dry ground.

"Thanks Star." Cyborg smiled gratefully at her. "If I had fallen, that would have been just nasty."

Several yards away Beast Boy was bent over in laughter, his giggles echoing in the empty streets as tears streamed from his face. "Man that was funny!"

Cyborg scowled. "That was funny? FUNNY! I'll show you funny!" He shouted at the changeling as BB turned into a bird and flew away. "Let's see if you can morph into a pretzel!"

Starfire sighed as she pursued her belligerent friends. Sometimes she wondered how Jump City had lasted so long with these young men as its protectors. She shook her head and dismissed her thoughts before fate decided to agree with her and change its propitious proclivity towards them.

* * *

"All done!" Robin smirked proudly as he dumped a tied up man on top of a pile of twenty or more similarly restricted men. "You need any help?" 

Raven rolled her eyes as she turned her back to him to finish up her last man. "Hardly."

Two things happened simultaneously: Raven was hit from behind with an extremely large slab of concrete and Robin was suddenly caught in a stony grip.

He growled as he began his futile struggle against the concrete that held him prisoner.

"RAVEN!" He screamed, his voice fill with worry. She had to be okay.

The boulder crushing the young empath was suddenly thrown backwards and Raven knelt in a pool of her own blood. She stifled a scream as she felt two broken ribs heal themselves after she provided her body with a massive spurt of energy. She stumbled to her feet and took a deep breath, calming herself before she directed her attention towards her opposition.

"Release him now." Raven demanded tightly, her voice filled with a cold anger.

Cinderblock roared his defiance as he tightened his grip on the Boy Wonder clutched in his fingers.

Robin gritted his teeth against the pain, refusing to cry out as he heard the audible snap of bones breaking. If only he couldn't reach his utility belt.

"NOW!" Raven's eyes turned black and power burst from her very pores as waves of black surrounded every object within a one mile radius. The only ones left untouched by her raw power were Robin and his stone captor. Several yards surrounding them were also left unblemished by the dark surging power. Because Cinderblock was holding Robin she wouldn't be able to use her power directly on him or anything touching him.

Anger boiled beneath the surface of her skin and red eyes flickered in and out of existence in the depths of her blue hood. Tentacles crept out from beneath her cloak, thin wasps trying to grasp the stone behemoth but failing.

She picked a street pole without even looking at it and launched it at Cinderblock. She cried out and jerked her head to side sharply, barely avoiding the giant when he held out the hand holding Robin's body as a shield. Her eyes narrowed darkly as she picked up a motorcycle and a lamp pole and threw them at him from different angles. How dare he use Robin in such a way?

Cinderblock held up the arm holding Robin, deterring one object as Raven sent it careening into a building and kicked away the motorcycle.

Raven growled as she tried to find away to make Cinderblock relinquish his hold on Robin without harming him. She shook her head, as she furiously stomped down her frustration. She tried her last tactic once more, this time throwing ten objects at him. Once again, Cinderblock used Robin as a human shield, squeezing the Boy Wonder harder than necessary.

Raven's frustration soon turned to desperation. There was no telling what harm would be done to Robin before she could save him and because of the spell she wouldn't be able to heal him at all.

"Fuck!"

"Such naughty language!" A taunting voice blasted from above her. Her eyes shot up as she tilted her head back slightly to see who mocking her, Robin doing the same.

Her eyes were drawn immediately towards the giant screen that was positioned on the tallest building in Jump City, the television tower which broadcasted every television and radio show in the city. Currently display across the giant screen was Jinx's smug, sneering face as she directed her attention towards the empath. "Raven…it's so nice to see you." Jinx purred.

Her voice was thick with sarcasm but Raven could identify an underlying layer of honesty. Raven stiffened immediately, the thread of honesty she detected didn't sit well with her. It meant something deleterious, especially towards her health.

"I'm glad I can't say the same." Raven retorted in her dry voice. It wasn't quite as emotionless as she would have hoped but it was understandable considering the circumstances. "I would ask you want the hell you wanted, but I know exactly what you what. Or maybe I should say who you want."

Jinx smirked. "That is where you're wrong. I will admit that I do want him but as of right now it's not him I want…it's you."

Raven's lips curled in disgust. "As honored as I am Jinx, I think you're out of luck because I don't swing that way. And even if I did I wouldn't touch you with a twenty foot pole unless I was spearing you with it!"

Loud, shrill laughter multiplied by a thousand, reverberated off of the surrounding buildings, shattering hundreds of windows.

Raven winced at the sharp sound and covered her ears, a loud ringing persistent within them. 'They're probably bleeding,' she mused darkly.

"I'm sorry did that hurt?" Jinx crooned maliciously. "And as for your earlier comment, bitch, you wish."

"Sure, as much as I wish for a hole in my head." Raven uttered under her breath. Out loud she shouted, "What do you want from me?"

"Other than your death, you mean?" Jinx asked almost sweetly.

"Yes, preferably anything other than that." Raven replied sardonically in her monotone, although the hair rose on her arms.

"Cinderblock," Jinx addressed the stone behemoth. "Bring Robin to me."

The giant slab of concrete gave a huge roar and began to scale the building with one hand.

Raven frowned as she prepared to pursue him, but Jinx's voice rang out, stopping the dark demoness in flight. "You chase after him and I'll have Cinderblock drop him."

Raven snorted in disbelief, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You love him too much."

Jinx grinned as she taunted Raven. "If I were you I wouldn't be so sure. After all, are you willing to gamble away his life?"

"If you didn't love him as much as you claim not to then you wouldn't have used such a powerful spell to bind him to you." Raven spat back matter-of-factly but nevertheless she sank back down until her feet touched the concrete. Besides, what could she do? She couldn't touch Cinderblock with her powers nor carry Robin to safety without touching him.

Jinx shrugged. "If you say so. I still want you to come up here, that's a given. How else can I kill you? But I want you to wait until my guest of honor reaches me first."

Raven gritted her teeth as she spoke her mantra in her head. Unfortunately it didn't have its usual calming effects. Her burning eyes followed Cinderblock's process, flames dancing within the amethyst depths and she could barely contain herself from flying up to where Jinx was beating the holy bejesus out of her.

If a fight was what Jinx wanted then that's what she would get. The pink witch should be taught to be more careful of what she wished for.

And Raven was the perfect instructor.

* * *

Starfire and Cyborg raced after Beast Boy. Not to catch him this time but instead to keep up with him. Jinx's face and voice were being broadcasted across the entire city and it was coming from only one place, the broadcasting tower. Raven and Robin were in danger and their team was all the way on the other side of the city. Raven was in more danger, the threat of death heard by everyone and made her companions run even faster. 

Cyborg and Starfire were stopped abruptly as a green Ford pickup truck cart wheeled across their path, igniting sparks and trailing metal scraps as it skidded across the pavement. Starfire had let out a small startled scream and Beast Boy, in the form of a cheetah, stopped and wheeled back around to face his friends, finding truck particles blocking his vision, a quick look to the left confirmed a truck lodged sideways into a brick building.

He morphed back into his humanoid form and looked around bemused. "Where the hell did that come from?" He inquired as he scratched his head.

Another car, a red Toyota, came crashing down the street and Beast Boy transformed into a hawk, flying out of the car's trajectory.

"Whoa. Dude!" He cried once he was out of harms way and back into his natural form, his arms waving in wild gesticulations of 'wtf'. "Where the hell did that come from?" He repeated.

A roar split the night, as a large stone figure stepped into their way. It was Cinderblock.

"No freakin' way!" Beast Boy screeched, his hands wild waving escalating as he tried to comprehend the fact that Cinderblock was in two places at once. "Dude, how'd he do that?"

"Please, is it not impossible to be in two places at once?" Starfire asked Cyborg, a questioning look upon her face as she floated about his shoulders.

"You forget that Raven isn't the one who knows magic in this city." He said grimly, as he stared warily at the concrete replica standing before him. "I bet that this is Jinx's doing."

The sharp of sound of applause suddenly erupted and the group looked around wildly as they searched for the source.

"Congratulations Cyborg. You're not as stupid as I took you for." A masculine voice rang out. Mammoth stepped out of the shadows, a rabid smirk dominating his shaggy facial features. "You won't go any farther."

"Right who's gonna stop us?" Cyborg mocked.

"I will" was his simple answer.

Beast Boy cackled as he quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, you and what army?"

His smirk turned into a full blown, maniacal grin which made the Titans shift worriedly from foot to foot. Cyborg exchanged glances with Starfire who look slightly concerned. This couldn't be good.

"Me and my stone friend here." He gestured behind him and the Titans passed among themselves confused glances. Cinderblock wasn't behind him.

Mammoth stepped to the side and everyone gasped, Beast Boy's mouth gaping open. For the first time in a long while, Beast Boy was struck silent.

* * *

Raven gasped in pain, and then gritted her teeth to make certain other annoying noises would not escape. She was currently in a full blown battle with Jinx and crouched down behind a large desk in an office. It must have belonged to someone very important within the corporation because it was once very pretentious, fitting one of high rank or achievement. 

Raven flinched as another blast collided with the desk that was currently shielding her from the torrent of blasts coming from her adversary. _Once_ being the key word. The current state of the office would have made its previous owner go into cardiac arrest. Their battlefield was once a large office, window panes lined almost 2/3 of the office, the glass having been blown out a while ago. Plush, debris littered carpet lined the floor, and several destroyed potted plants were once strategically placed decoration. Diplomas and certificates lining the walls had been obliterated who knows how long ago and expensive marble statues were now worthless dust.

At the moment, she should be more worried about her own condition and not that of the office. She had numerous bruises, cuts, burns and abrasions covering her body. In other words, she looked like crap and the situation was steadily getting worse. Robin was chained to the far wall to her left but she couldn't reach him, not with her on the defensive. Her powers were quickly draining, and she was constantly using them to heal the more critical wounds. She didn't need blood loss to add to her already hebetudinous and lethargic state.

If she had taken on Jinx while she was still fresh then it wouldn't have taken as much effort. However after fighting villains for three or four hours and having a boulder dropped on top of her and repair the damage done…it was understandable that she wasn't playing her 'A' game.

"Aw, poor Raven. Come out and play." Jinx purred as another shattering blow fell upon the desk.

Raven gritted her teeth as a plan flashed with celerity through her head, as her eyes locked upon a giant statue to her right that was still intact. The statue was about four feet tall, and nearly as wide weighing at the very least 200 pounds. Her plan wasn't foolproof of course, and a lot of things could go wrong but at that point in time, anything was better than waiting for Jinx to get tired of playing cat and mouse and finish the game. She took a deep breath, tensed her muscles and waited.

A blast came from her right and she sprung towards her left, a bolt missing her feet by inches. She rolled to her feet and with her mind's eye she engulfed the statue and launched it directly at Jinx's turned back as hard as she possibly could.

Her adversary gave a sharp, painful cry as the hard marble collided with her, tumbling her to the ground. Raven heard the unmistakable crack of breaking bones and the sharp scream that followed only cemented her grim conclusion.

Raven turned carefully, mindful of her many painful wounds as her muscles screamed out in protest. She blinked rapidly as blood, gushing from a head wound, ran into her right eye, almost blinding her. Her impeded vision took in the sight before her, and she couldn't help but heave a small sigh of relief before her face hardened, rage suffocating her pain and weariness, drowning it all out. She struggled briefly as she began to lose control, but her pained and weary mind could not stamp down her rage. Raven felt herself losing and renewed her struggle, as she paused in her advance. She didn't know what would happen if she lost control but it would not bode well for Jinx. However, thinking of the reason of her struggle did not help to calm her down, only to infuriate her more. So when her amethyst eyes blinked out of existence and the tendrils of dark, greedy power began to escape her, Raven was not all that repentant.

Jinx was imprisoned beneath the giant slab of marble, blood from what Raven assumed was a broke leg, pooled beneath her, soaking the surrounding carpet an angry crimson. The young witch pushed futilely, desperation in every painful twitch of her muscles. Horror filled eyes looked up at Raven before the horror was buried beneath fury and indignation, her face becoming a mask of defiance, in spite of her imminent defeat. She forced her horror to slide away from her because Raven was a _hero_ and she was confident that the empath would not kill her. _Almost_. Jinx forced away the shudder that threatened to consume her. The cold rage reflected in Raven's scarlet eyes was not too reassuring of her safety and seemed to have her demise reflected within them.

A black aura enveloped the marble, lifting it about four feet into the air. Jinx struggled to move, propping herself up onto her elbows, as she prepared herself covertly for a magical attack. The teen screamed in shock at what happened next. The block of marble, once suspended in the air, fell suddenly, crushing her other leg. Her arms buckled and she fell back to the debris littered ground. The pain, which was previously buried under shock and defiance, clawed its way viciously through. She gasped, as the agony ripped through her, silent tears weaving their way down her twisted face.

The trapped witch glared murderously at the slowly approaching teen, her fear barely controlled as she fought against the raising bile in her throat. Her throat was dry, and she swallowed painfully past the lump in her throat as she tried to lubricate it. However, fear left her parched and her erratic heartbeat seemed to pulse in time with Raven's slow deliberate footsteps. Red, scorching eyes burned into her body and she felt their disgust, rage, and intentions like a brand on her skin, causing it to crawl with barely suppressed emotions.

The marble lifted up once more, this time ten feet into the air, as the shadow it created slowly crept up her body. Her eyes widened in abject terror and realization as she stared her own death in the face. The pink witch trembled as the shadow engulfed her face, and the only thing she could see was her impeding death. The marble began to rush downwards and she forced her wide eyes to shut tightly as her life seemed to flash across the inside of her eyelids. Visions of her mother's indifferent, almost fearful face, a face that never cared, her father's sneering profile as he abused her. The first eight years of her life flickered past, the time when she was taught the harsh rules of survival, the unfairness of life as she tried desperately to cope with her inexplicable gift. Being beaten by her inebriated foster father as her screams were ignored by small frightened faces. Her first glimpse of her salvation in the form of the syndicate H.I.V.E as she vowed viciously to inflict even more pain on the world than it had on her. Forms ran rampant through her mind, first of Gizmo, then Mammoth, Slade, all the different people she had met during her seeming brief time as a villain.

Then finally, the vision of Robin slammed into her and the only things she could feel were unbearable longing and remorse. She really did love him, felt more for him than she had for anyone else in her entire existence. But they weren't meant to be, never could be. She was too evil, too tainted for him to ever love her. He was a hero for crying out loud. An unintentional sob broke free from her dry, cracked lips as she quieted, accepting her death more easily and completely than she had ever accepted her broken life.

A scream pierced the dark and she wasn't sure if it was her own or not.

* * *

Don't forget to review and I should update next week, no promises though cuz I have exams during that week. 


	12. In The End

**Love Potion **

**By Amber Myst**

**Chapter Twelve: In The End...**

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Silence permeated the streets and every thing was deathly still, like a city scene suspended perpetually within a glass globe. The luminescent setting of the blood-orange sun and its subsequent rays lent the scene a sense of the surreal as the streaks of light filtered in between the buildings, glinting off of shattered windows and cracked streetlights.

No one dared to move, to breathe, as Beast Boy's shimmering, emerald eyes were trained on one of the few objects that could cause such a scene.

Starfire was watching Beast Boy intently, worried as she tried to gauge his reaction and keep her own overwhelming temper in check. Cyborg's attention was split between their enemy, the stunned changeling, and the object of shock.

"Terra." Beast Boy's whisper was almost lost to the wind, an echoing, astringent note of pain evident in his voice. The stone statute of Terra, the blonde who had stolen his heart and his trust, stood behind Mammoth; her body was forever frozen, encased in a prison of the same matter she commanded nearly flawlessly near the end. Flawlessly enough to almost destroy his family, some of the few people he cared about most in this world. But she had redeemed herself, in the most extreme way he knew possible; he couldn't allow her to be treated like this. Like a bargaining chip. His fists clenched tightly, his blunt nails digging crescent moons into sweat-licked palms.

"Cinderblock." Mammoth called smugly.

The stone beast instantly picked up Terra's statue none too gently. Beast Boy started suddenly, his teeth bared in pulsing hatred at such disrespectful handling.

"If you Titans want to keep your friend intact then you _will _stay exactly where you are." Mammoth gave a feral grin, his teeth glinting menacingly in the dusky twilight. "And if you are cooperative then Jinx might find the time to resurrect her." He threw the comment out flippantly, as if he could care less but his gaze was trained on the nearly feral Beast Boy.

Cyborg growled a warning low in his throat, already deciphering the hairy villain's plan. "Don't listen to him Beast Boy."

Starfire advanced suddenly into action, swift as a humming bird as her jade eyes blazed with her hatred and fury. She was not quick to anger; she believed that it was a violent, festering emotion that could destroy one from the inside out. Robin, one of her best friend knew this from first-hand experience. But some transgressions were unforgivable.

In response to her sudden movement, Cinderblock let the statue slip between his fingers. Beast Boy let out a distressed howl as he started forward and Starfire hesitated, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach the statue in time. She closed her eyes and tensed in dreaded anticipation, waiting for their former friend to smash into the ground and shatter into a million pieces.

When the noise didn't come, she peeked out from beneath her lashes to discover that Terra was once more clasped securely in the giant's hands.

The titans stayed tense and stationary, uncertain of what their next move should be as their glares burned holes through their enemies. They were at a standstill, one that they could not allow to remain for much longer.

Cyborg was the first to realize the seriousness of their delay and what it could mean for their team leader and empath. He sighed grimly, knowing what needed to be done and not wanting to be the one to do so. "Sorry Beast Boy but something as to be done." The mechanical genius held up his sonic cannon and prepared to fire.

"Nooo!" Beast Boy tackled Cyborg as a rhinoceros, using his horn to lift his metal companion and throw him into a nearby building. No one was more shocked by the changeling's action than himself and he immediately changed back into his original form. "S-sorry Cyborg but I can't let you jeopardize Terra's chance at life."

If Raven had been present she would have made a caustic remark retaining to Beast Boy using words bigger than he was but she wasn't, something Starfire intended on reminding Beast Boy of.

"Friend Beast Boy, Raven needs our help." She prodded him gently, not wanting to provoke him into any more violence. She would not hurt her friend if she could avoid it even though he was acting like a diphomnack.

Beast Boy looked back towards the tall tower in the distance nervously, guilt racking his body. "Raven can take care of herself." He muttered his words sounding hollow, even to himself.

Cyborg had emerged from the building and now stood by Starfire's side, his voice harsh and cutting. "So, you're willing to trade Raven and Robin's life on the slim chance that Terra can be brought back?"

Beast Boy flinched as he paled. He began to tremble. "No…it's not like that, I-"

"It's not like that? I can't tell, cause that's exactly how it looks." Cyborg cut him off fiercely.

Cyborg's vitpertious words stung Beast Boy deeply, and his eyes started to shimmer. "But I…I can't."

Beast Boy whipped his head back and forth between the tower in the distance and the stone figure across the street. "I love her…loved her." He whimpered to himself brokenly, repeating himself in his grief. "There is still a chance, still a chance…"

His words tampered to a halt as his eyes hardened and he came to his internal conclusion. "I'm sorry."

Cyborg leveled his sonic cannon at Beast Boy, the grim look on his face twisted with remorse but determination. "Decide BB, we don't have all day."

The sudden sound of the wind whistling down the decimated street drowned out the whirling hum of Cyborg's charging cannon as Beast Boy turned into a tyrannosaurus rex. Cyborg closed his human eye and aimed. Suddenly, the king of all dinosaurs did an abrupt about face, as his long sweeping tail slammed Mammoth up into the seventh floor of a nearby sky scraper. Less than a millisecond later, Cyborg fired and the wide beam missed Beast Boy by centimeters, knocking Cinderblock away. He roared and hurled the stone figure at the titans. Starfire flew up, catching the figure and landing gracefully back down. She handed the statue to Cyborg and pursued Cinderblock, throwing punch after punch at him, pushing him backwards with each powerful hit. A blast with her eye beams and a roundhouse kick sent Cinderblock crumbling to the ground. Immediately, he shakely regained his feet.

The recalcitrant monster roared its defiance at the furious alien and surprisingly she screamed right back at him, her voice harsh and furious. Cyborg and Beast Boy watched stunned as Starfire picked up a dislodged street light and bludgeoned him with it several times, putting as much strengthen behind the blows as her heritage would allow.

Starfire was raging. Words punctuated every stunning blow.

"Don't."

Whack.

"Ever."

Boom.

"Threaten."

Crash.

"My."

Smack.

"Friends."

Slam.

"In such."

Bang.

"A devious manner."

Crack.

"AGAIN!"

Wham.

With a scream of tortured metal, the streetlamp finally cracked from the constant abuse and the concrete behemoth was down for the count. Her brightly glowing green eyes dimmed as she placed back down, her chest heaving in an effort to catch her breath.

Cyborg and Beast Boy inched away from her slowly, frightening and wary glances trained on her as if any sudden movements would be the end of them.

Gulp. "Uhh…are, are you okay?" Beast Boy inquired, his voice shaking with fear as he continued to inch away.

Starfire looked bemused as she tilted her head to the side. "Of course I am, and thank you for your concern. But why would you think otherwise?"

"Dude," he turned to Cyborg. "Did you just witness what I did or am I retarded?"

"While that question is debatable," He ignored Beast Boy's glare. "I think what he's trying to say is…how do I put this aptly?"

Cyborg cleared his throat searching for words to say. "_WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" _

Starfire blushed as she replied solemnly. "Well, I don't believe he should have threatened us with someone so dear to our team."

"Well thanks." Beast Boy beamed. He turned to Cyborg who was over by Cinderblock prodding him cautiously with a metal boot.

"I think you killed him Star." Cyborg poked him some more.

Starfire gasped, a horrified expression on her face as she floated over to examine the downed behemoth. "Oh, I did not mean to murder him. Please, tell me you are doing the pushing of my arm."

"I think you mean the 'pulling of your leg', and yes he is Star." Beast Boy answered as Starfire expressed a small 'glorious'. At least he hoped he was.

"Well, I think we better go rescue the birds." Cyborg said grimly as they continued their trek across the city.

"How did you know that I wouldn't go over to the 'dark side' and all evil like?" Beast Boy asked Cyborg, his face twisting into an expression he thought to be appropriately 'dark side and 'evil' like as he wiggled his fingers and loped along next to him.

"I'm your best friend and despite of our daily 'food fights' I think we know each other better than you think. Besides, you knew you couldn't take me down." He boasted, ruining their small moment with male posturing.

"Hey! I'd kick your ass and eat you for breakfast; only meat is disgusting….and as far as I know so is metal!"

"It's better than tofu."

Starfire sighed as she followed the bickering boys. At this rate there would be nothing of Raven and Robin to save.

Her expression became grim and she quickened her pace.

* * *

"No!"

The scream echoed loudly, slicing through the tense silence.

Raven paused, her red eyes flickering briefly out of existence before reappearing and moving towards the source of the scream. "What!" She hissed menacingly, but the descending slab of marble did indeed stop.

"You can't kill her!" Robin said desperation tingeing his voice. No matter how much he despised Jinx, he knew Raven would never forgive herself if she killed the witch in this violent grip of rage.

Raven smiled lubricously. "Watch me. Anything's fair in love and war." And it was true that it was both.

"Raven!"

Jinx watched the exchange silently. Did Robin actually care for her? A small, barely felt flicker of hope surged through her empty soul but was buried so deeply beneath her despair that she couldn't even began to believe it. Her dull eyes flickered back and forth between Raven and her would-be rescuer.

"Robin." She said dryly although she was a bit impatient.

Raven's thoughts flickered back to that morning in the living room, but she pushed them away firmly before she softened. Jinx would never threaten what was hers again.

But he wasn't hers. With that abrupt thought, wide, violet eyes reappeared suddenly, her anger giving way to a more gripping emotion, sorrow and despair. She was emotionally unstable as the two emotions wracked her body suddenly and with a cry of anguish that originated from her soul and a burst of magic she didn't know she had left, the cold marble flew out of the window and into the dark, unforgiving night. She sank to her knees, falling as hard and as fast as the tears streaming down her face. Her sobs were heart wrenching as her body seemed to convulse.

"Oh, God. I didn't mean to fall in love." She whispered inaudibly to herself as she buried her face in her hands, the tears running faster as she trembled. She seemed to fold in on her self as she tried to draw her body into as small a ball as possible, the crown of her head meeting her knees. They couldn't be together. Ever. As soon as the spell was released, she had to do the right thing.

"Raven." Robin whispered quietly, appalled and worried. Her every sob ripped through him with swift agony and he knew that he would do anything he could and would stop at nothing if only she should stop this torture of his soul.

"Raven, please." He pleaded, his voice was hoarse, as if he spent the last few hours screaming. The consternation displayed on his face didn't even begin to match his internal feelings.

Jinx stared at the sight of the weeping, distressed bird in front of her. What in the hell just happened?

"I suppose I should free you." Raven intoned, her voice dead as she climbed haphazardly to her feet and approached the restrained bird. Her eyes were red and puffy, but her face seemed to be carved out of the same marble she tried to crush Jinx with. Her face was impenetrable and her veneer appeared that of indifference, as if she couldn't have possibly just collapsed in tears, despite the tears still running down the grime and dirt that had accumulated during her intense battle.

She approached him slowly on unsteady legs. Robin watched with pain and anguish twisting his face and soul. He couldn't stand for Raven to be in such obvious agony and not be able to do anything to diminish it. She was now standing in front of him and looking up at him, staring into his mask.

"Raven." He whispered once again. "What's wrong baby?"

"NO!" She screamed as she shook her head and crouched to the ground, her face twisting as she closed her eyes. Her hands were clasped tightly over her ears. "D-don't call me that. Please, don't. I can't, I'm trying..."

Her thoughts flickered unwillingly back to the day his had first used that pet name with her

* * *

_*flashback*_

"_Raven….talk to me." He was still snickering, his hand covering his mouth as he pleaded with her._

_Raven ignored him, still smoldering inwards at the nerve of him. She had told him what his kisses did to her and he had to gall to laugh!? She seethed quietly as she dismissed him as she would an annoying gnat. What had started out as his general teasing turned into an almost heated debate, which in turn led to the current situation._

"_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him….." She mumbled viciously to herself over and over, trying to drown him out as she walked away._

"_That's not what you were saying a few seconds ago, baby!" He sang as he taunted her unmercifully despite the knowledge that his current health was indirectly proportioned to the amount of teasing he was doing. In other words, the more he said, the more painful her retaliation but her revelation made him giddy with happiness and he threw all caution to the winds. She hadn't said she loved him but she did say that he drove her crazy with his kisses and, after a lot of prodding, suggestions and even more mad libbing,, that she melted when he touched her._

_She whirled around abruptly, fire burning in her eyes and for a second he thought that maybe, just maybe he had gone too far. However, she seemed to regain some control over her emotions and instead spat through gritted teeth, 'Don't call me that,' before she turned back around, her hands clenched by her sides as she attempted t walk away from him._

_We just couldn't have that now could we?_

_His grin widened and he grabbed her by her wrist and swung her around to face him. Her rage and embarrassment gave way to shock and confusion and then horror and realization as he pressed his lips against hers. She punched his chest but he didn't step away from her and her knees buckled as he pressed her against the wall, his muscled thigh sliding between her legs against sensitive areas. To keep her from injuring him farther, he imprisoned both hands within his. He smiled against her lips and kissed her. Gentle caresses and nips turned into torrid, bruising kisses. She struggled to free her restrained hands and he complied without a second thought. A brief thought in the back of his mind told him she might push him away but he was pleasantly surprised when Raven wrapped them around his neck pulling him even closer to her._

_His hands moved to her hips, to still them as she began to move against him. She whimpered but he didn't relent, his tight hold on them or his control as a bare leg curled around the thicker one trapped between her thighs. Robin ended the passionate kisses with softer, gentler ones, before pulling away completely from her. He smirked with male satisfaction as he stared into her dazed, cloudy eyes._

_"Baby?" Robin inquired, as he ran his hands along her sides soothingly, pressing his forehead against hers. There was an amused lilt to his somber, husky tones._

_"Hmm?" She replied dreamily, a soft look in her eyes. Her fingers were running gently through his hair._

_"You were right."_

_It took Raven a few seconds for what he said to process in her passion clouded mind. Once it did her face darkened, her leg dropped to the floor and she growled, bringing her knee up where it was positioned conveniently between his legs. Robin's lighting quick reflexes allowed him to grab her knee just in time to avoid what would have been a very painful assault. But as he looked into Raven's stormy eyes he realized that he wasn't out of the woods yet._

_He gulped. _

_That was the last time he saw Raven's face for hours. Come to think of it, it was also the absolute last thing he had seen at all. Period. _

* * *

"...to forget."

Raven shook the memory from her mind as she stood, feeling every ache, cramp and wound in her body. Suddenly the last five hours caught up to her and she almost fell over from the strain and sudden pain. The adrenaline rush she received from the battle finally faded leaving her bereft. She trembled as she stared blankly at the shackles holding Robin to the wall. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Jinx, tell me where the key is." She demanded, her voice bleak and lifeless.

Jinx whimpered as she pulled herself up slightly. She thought about telling the dark witch to go fuck off but her life was just spared; she didn't want to risk it again. She pulled the key out of her pocket and spitefully chucked it at Raven's head.

The key stopped suddenly, as it turned black. It landed gently into Raven's open palm and she inserted it into the hole and turned. A loud 'click' identified the opening of the locking mechanism and the metal bracelet fell away. She repeated the process on the other one wordlessly and as soon as it fell away Robin grabbed Raven and pulled her into a gentle but firm hug.

"Are you okay?" He breathed anxiously in her ear as he held her close. He winced, the motion bringing him pain because of his broken ribs, but didn't pull away.

Raven nodded, but other than that she remained inert, her arms motionless at her sides. "As okay as I ever will be."

He knew she was lying but he wasn't going to push the matter, not yet anyway. However, he was wondering why she didn't return his embrace. He hesitantly took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Robin sighed in relief when she didn't pull away although she didn't immediately respond either. Her fingers were motionless for a few seconds before she curled them his own. They were freezing cold and his brows knitted together in confusion and worry.

"Raven?"

She shook her head and murmured 'another time' as she approached the immobilized teen sprawled on the floor. "Do you know the antidote?"

A crushed expression befell Robin as hurt swamped him, suffocating him and he had to remember how to breathe. He had to keep telling himself that this wasn't permanent, that Raven didn't really love him, in spite of the ache in his heart.

'_Besides,' _He thought harshly as he admonished himself for such foolish emotions. _'Why would she want me hanging around her all the time anyway?' _He pulled himself together, schooling his facial features to express nothing but worry.

Jinx scowled despite her vow not to irritate the teen. "If I did I would have had him already, idiot."

Raven suddenly snapped, her eyes flashing a terrifying crimson as she took a threatening step forward. "Well if-"

She was cut off by a sudden explosion that rocked the very foundation of the building.

* * *

Raven stumbled as the building shook, throwing her into Robin and they both crashed onto the floor.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Robin's arms tightened around her waist and he lurched out of the way as a bolt of energy crashed through the floor at the spot they occupied just seconds before.

Raven didn't have any idea on what was going on. "_Move_ Raven!" She heard Robin demand above her, the urgency in his voice driving her, giving her the energy she knew she didn't have. She scrambled awkwardly to her feet, exhaustion and blood loss taking its toll on her. Robin held onto her waist as tried to desperately remove her from danger. Having no idea where the attack was coming from, her wide eyes scanned the dark room frantically as the hands gripping her waist dragged her along.

They stumbled behind the desk that at one point of the night had offered Raven minimal protection from Jinx's relentless attack, Robin pressed tightly against the curve of her spine.

"What?" She gasped breathlessly through the pain caused by Robin's agitation of her wounds and the sudden panic that had taken over her body.

"Gizmo," Robin proclaimed through gritted teeth. He too wasn't in the greatest of shape, his broken ribs from earlier causing him distress.

"Oh great." Raven muttered, shaking her head as much to clear it as to get rid of the dust clinging to her from the plaster that was raining from the ceiling.

"Could this possibly get any worse?" She muttered darkly under her breath before saying aloud, "So what in the hell do we do now?"

"I don't know but we better do it fast, the building is coming down." Robin said grimly as he also shook his head, spitting out dust that had managed to enter his open mouth. Peering from behind the desk, he could barely see through the constant fall of dust and dark, Gizmo standing over Jinx but he couldn't make out what he was saying to the severely injured teen. Either the rumble from the building covered what they were saying or the mini-nerd was whispering.

"Raven, do you think you can-" Robin was cut off suddenly by a high voltage beam of pure energy that sent him clear across the room and through the wall.

She just had to open her fat mouth didn't she?

Raven bit back a shriek as she scrambled to her feet, forcing herself to face her opponent. Her first impulse was to run after Robin but she reigned it in.

Gizmo had an extremely large gun leveled at her chest. "How DARE you?!" He howled at her before he pulled the trigger.

Raven flinched, her muscles tensing as the ammunition flew over her right shoulder. The heat from the passing beam scorched her cheek and a few strands of hair. "How dare I what?" The words barely reached her normal, apathetic monotone.

"How dare you hurt her so badly?" He spat out at the dark empath in front of him. "You were supposed to beat her but not try to kill her! Aren't you suppose to be the good guy?" He ranted as he waved his gun around impetuously.

Raven's eyebrows shot up in confusion, her eyes widening. "What?" Either she was missing something very vital or her hearing was shorting out.

Gizmo sneered at her. "Confused aren't you?"

Raven bit back a scalding retort. After all, it's imperative that you don't piss off the insane midget waving the gun twice his size. She crossed her arms under her chest in a move that said 'obviously' as she took a small, barely discernible step backwards. Shooting a furtive glance over her shoulder, she could see a motionless Boy Wonder several yards away.

Her small adversary was oblivious to her movement and she let out a sigh of relief as he continued to talk.

"Well, if you must know. I-I loved Jinx and I've been trying to sabotage her attempts the whole time." He confessed and a strangled gasp emanated from behind him. He turned towards Jinx's shocked form on the floor. "I even tried to tell you and you laughed in my face!" He screamed bitterly at her.

"Y-you were serious?!"

Raven retreated quietly towards Robin, using this distraction as the two argued to escape. So this explained the small explosion on the day Jinx used the spell.

_A small explosion sent the pink witch flying back even farther. Raven managed to stop herself and turned back to Robin. She didn't stop to think about where the explosion came from because she knew she didn't do it. _

She was a few feet from Robin when another explosion rocked the building. The unpleasant, screeching sound of tearing, grinding metal ensued and she abandoned subtlety in favor of diving through the wall towards Robin's side. She grabbed his arm and immediately released it, biting back a yelp of pain as currents of electricity followed over his body. The ceiling above them buckled dangerously and she gritted her teeth against the coming pain. Arms hooked under his armpits, she pulled with a desperate strength that hauled his body back through the wall just in time. A piece of the ceiling collapsed inward with the sound of straining metal and the floor above it fell in with it, a desk crashing and breaking apart on impact. An airborne shard of wood pierced her right shoulder and she barely managed to hold back a scream of pain.

"Robin." She hissed through clenched teeth. "Wake up, c'mon. The building's coming down around us." He stirred slightly but didn't make any other movements that acknowledge her presence or the fact that she had spoken to him.

She dragged him to his feet and stumbled under his dead weight, nearly falling back onto the ground. Raven gritted her teeth against her screaming, protesting muscles as she realized that she couldn't drag him to safety; he would have to help. "Robin!" She yelled into his ear.

He flinched away from the loud sound of her voice, letting out a small, painful groan. "Raven…" He whispered quietly, hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure she was there.

"Yes, it's me." She hoisted him up against her uninjured shoulder, and pulled him closer, her arm wrapped tightly around his waist. His arm was thrown loosely around her neck and she flinched every time the appendage brushed upon her wounded shoulder. Her entire left side was numb from the current of electricity leaping from Robin to her. "You have to walk for me. Can you do that?" She asked, deliberately pitching her voice low this time, broadcasting all the urgency and desperation of the situation. If Robin couldn't help her save him then they were both as good as dead. Leaving him was not an option.

"I'll…I'll try." He mumbled, as he took an unsure step forward. He stumbled over a piece of plaster and Raven quickened her steps, trying to use the momentum to keep him balanced and moving. If they fell it was over, her muscles would not have nearly enough strength to pull him back to his feet. She managed a small sound of relief as the paralyzing effects of Gizmo's bolt began to wear off and the intensity of the small, painful shocks began to diminish.

"Good," she crooned encouragingly as they stumbled from the room, unbeknown to the teens that were still screaming at each other.

* * *

Horror and desolation engulfed her and she struggled to take deep, even breaths. Her burden began to slip and she hoisted him back up against her, biting back a scream, her teeth sinking into her tongue unintentionally as he grasped her injured shoulder, fingers digging into ripped flesh. Blood began to seep from between her clenched teeth.

To her utter shame, her eyes began to shimmer with the imminent threat of unshed tears. Raven didn't know if it was from the pain or from the sight in front of her. The pair had made it to the stairway unimpeded only to go down two flights and find that four flights of metal steps were missing. Peering down, she could barely see the outline of the crashed, tangled heap of metal that lay on top of the rest of the descending steps.

"Raven." Robin hissed into her ear, his eyes closed. "Why have we stopped?"

Raven simply shook her head, sure that Robin had felt the action. She heard the screeching sound of straining metal issue from the stairs horror seized her heart. The stairs were about to collapse, they had to get off. The only way to go now was up.

"Come on." She whispered to him, almost as if any unnecessary noise would quicken the imminent destruction of the stairway. Craning her neck upwards, she saw that they were only four flights from the roof of the building.

They stumbled upwards together, one helping the other as they strained to make it up the stairwell. The couple had just rounded the second to last landing when a thunderous sound shook the whole building. Raven fell against the wall, barely managing to keep them both standing as they stairs began to rattle and shake, deafening booms resounding every few seconds. Looking over the railing, her eyes widened as she registered the source of the noise. The staircase was finally collapsing!

Pushing herself away from the wall she dragged Robin up the stairs with a desperate strength only hours before she would have sworn she didn't possess.

"_Move_, Robin!" Her statement and the urgency within it echoed the one he made not even twenty minutes ago. It was strange how situations seemed to go from bad to worse in such an infinitesimal amount of time. The clanging quickly climbed to a crescendo as the landing just beneath the one they were desperately climbing broke, falling nearly a hundred feet before crashing into the assimilation of twisted the metal at the bottom. As the steps began to shake, loosening their attachment to the wall, Raven crashed onto to the last platform before the roof, Robin slamming into her and they lost their balance.

"Fuck," She uttered, throwing herself forward. Her hand caught the railing, and she kept them from hitting the floor. Keeping her gaze trained on the door ahead of her, she ignored everything around her.

She ignored Robin's heavy breathing in her ear, his painful grip on her wounded body, the deafening screech of metal, the trembling structure beneath them, and her weary body. She ignored it all. Otherwise she would have collapsed and given up some time ago. Hating her weakness, she picked up her pace, making a nearly fatal mistake.

Misplacing her foot, she stumbled and they both crashed against the stairs, which lurched dangerously. Her labored breathing was coming out in short, harsh pants. Knowing she couldn't have climbed to her feet if she tried, she began to stumble, crawling up the stairs, dragging Robin up behind her, who made his own feeble attempts to assist her.

As she reached the final landing, her hand twisted into the back of his shirt, she turned around to drag him over the final step and gasped as suddenly Robin became heavier than she could hold. She lost her precarious stance on the landing and slammed heavily into the floor, her arms pulled taunt and dangling over the side still clenched around Robin.

The stairs had finally fallen.

Bracing herself, lest she was pulled over the side, terror filled her as she heard an unwelcome sound fill the air. The sound of Robin's shirt shredding.

"Robin." She hissed through clenched teeth, the strain more than her cramping fingers could take, even with her demon strength. "Grab my hand."

His hand gripped her forearm and her hands unclenched painfully from his shirt and clasped his forearm. They were in some deep shit as Robin dangled there. She knew for a fact that she didn't have the strength to lift him onto the landing and her bad shoulder screamed in vehement protest, the blood flowing down her arm and making her grip even more precarious.

"Can you pull yourself up?" The words were slow with pain and deliberate because she could barely spare the breath to repeat herself.

"I'll try." Robin grunted as he attempted to pull himself up, his muscles bulging with the strain. Half way up, his muscles began to shake with the strain and his ribs throb and his muscles went slack, unable to manage the strain put on them. The paralyzing effect of Gizmo's ray had yet to fade completely and it was still taking a toll on his straining muscles. He suddenly dropped as a result and Raven cried out as the sudden added weight dragged her farther over the precipitate. In a desperate attempt to save them, she twined her feet in the railing and muffled a shriek of agony as she felt her ankle wrench.

"Sorry." Robin uttered.

Raven couldn't respond, colorful dots were dancing across her vision and they were spaces of time where her vision blacked out. She tightened her grip on Robin when he began to slip, and she felt herself slip a bit farther over the side. She didn't know how long they laid there like that. It mostly likely had only been a matter of minutes but it felt like hours. The strain in her arms was becoming steadily worse, and it felt as if her shoulders would dislocate at any second. The steel of the platform they were on was digging into her upper chest, gorging a line from just below her shoulders and her clavicle bones where her arms were hanging over the side. A steady drip of blood fell from the platform, only to be lost in the darkness at the bottom of a sixty story drop. She had no idea how she was holding him up and didn't care to ponder it. One didn't look a gift horse in mouth, even if the horse seemed scrawny and barely capable of carrying her from point A to point B.

"You have to let me go."

The small whisper jarred Raven back into the awareness she had left in order to escape the incessant pain. "What?" Her words were slurred as she fought against unconscious and tightened her grip.

"If you want to live, you'd let me go," Robin uttered quietly, but determined as he began to wrench his wrist in her grasp. The only reason Raven was in danger was because he was too weakened to pull himself up. He didn't know how much longer Raven could hold on for, but he didn't want her to be killed because of him.

Raven gasped from the pain in her ankle as she snarled at him, her voice hoarse and harsh. "Stop it! Or I swear I'll untangle my legs and we'll both plummet!"

He stopped instantly, defeated.

"The others should be on their way, Robin." She whispered, her words sounding hollow even to her.

"But they won't make it in time, you're already weakened."

Raven gritted her teeth together, ignoring him as she began to chant her mantra in her head. Already her arms seemed to be numb, she could feel no sensation within them, something she welcomed wholeheartedly. "We just have to wait for them or for you to regain feeling."

Suddenly, another blast sounded and the whole building seemed to buckle inwardly as a horrible, ear-grating screech of metal filled the air and the platform they were on dropped several degrees. Raven screeched as she tightened her legs hold on the railing and the pressure on her arms increased.

"Raven, let me go!" Robin urged wildly, the desperation in his voice almost tangible. He would gladly give his life for hers. If only wishing the curse away was enough...

"Don't ask that of me!" Raven pleaded fiercely. She would _never_ let him go.

She began to plead earnestly to whatever god might have been listening. 'Take this curse away, I don't want it anymore! _PLEASE!' _She implored desperately. 'I don't care anymore if he loves me or not…I want him to live! He has to live.'

The platform finally gave way and they began to plummet to their death, sixty floors beneath them. "I DON'T WANT IT ANYMORE!" She screamed, barely able to hear anything beyond the rush of wind past her ears. She felt something within her snap, and leave her. It was the part of her essence that was Robin. The sudden feeling of emptiness didn't last long as she was filled once again, this time with an essence she recognized solely as her own. Without a second thought, she engulfed them both in a giant shadow just as the platform crashed against the amalgamation of steel at the bottom.

~*~

They resurfaced several streets away, Raven's soul self emptying them both onto the ground. Robin groaned in pain and rolled over, his breath harshly leaving his lungs. Raven's breath came shallowly, as her body worked over time to supply it with much needed oxygen. Moments later they could hear a thunderous crash in the distance. The building had finally collapsed.

The returning of pieces of their auras furnished them both with a feeling of incompleteness; the feeling making them both uneasy and wide awake, briefly masking their pain. Raven crawled over to Robin, too weak to do more than hover over him. She stared into his masked eyes and he into her unfettered ones as the world was forgotten and they both realized that the spell was no more, erased with the power of Raven's desperate emotions and Robin's acute desire to have it gone.

Raven's lips curved upwards, the small action holding more pain than he could bear. "Robin…" Her words trailed off, almost hesitantly as she stared into his eyes.

"Raven." His lips quirked into a small, unsure, tired smile as he tried to lighten the mood. He didn't know why she was so melancholy, well, other than their near death experience; she should be happy they survived. Something in him wanted to change her expression, to make her smile again. The spell was gone but that made little difference.

Since the day the spell started, she had been integral part of his life. He didn't need her anymore but that didn't change the fact that he did want her and he doubted that it would change instantly over night. His heart ached at the concept.

"I love you…" the whispered, agonized words sent an electrified and painful thrill through him. His heart pounded with the implications of it as he brain tried to wrap around the colossality of it. His first reaction was to smile until his face split in two. He wanted to pull her into his arms; that was, if he had the strength to and kiss her senseless. He barely managed to bite back those very same words. It was then that he realized he wasn't obligated to say those three words anymore, nothing was forcing him.

But he wanted to say them anyway. And that was what alarmed him.

He may not have been in full control of his emotions nor actions, but the real 'Robin' was aware of everything that was happening and somewhere along the way his affinity for her grew until…well, maybe he had actually fallen in love with her.

"You don't have to say anything." She told him, seeming to sense his inner turmoil. "I…I just wanted to say that to you before you forgot about all this."

His eyebrow shot up at this one and he seemed genuinely confused. He struggled to sit up and Raven fell back to her haunches to accommodate him. "What? What do you mean forget? I couldn't even if I tried!"

"I know." A frustrated noise escaped him as he tried to unravel her cryptic words.

She lifted her slim hands, placing them on the side of his head as they emanated a luminous, glowing aqua light.

His eyes widened in horror as he realized what she was about to do and he tried to jerk his head away from her grasp without success. "Raven, NO!"

She closed her eyes against the moisture falling from them as he went slack. Catching him about the shoulders, she lowered him gently, lovingly to the ground.

"It's better this way." She whispered, her voice breaking on a sob. "Bye…"

Suddenly, the night, its' activities, the strain, the pain and the whole world caught up to her, as the effects of the spelling ending faded. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed also, falling across his prone form. This was how the other Titans found them.

* * *

I have no excuses. Other than college, general life, and a cripplingly, genuine disinterest that I tried like hell to get over. There's one chapter left, I hope I do the ending of this story justice. I hate endings but this story has been going on long enough. Let me know what you thought. I don't believe I'll ever capture the essence of angst without it being overly dramatic, but I guess I did alright. You have no idea how many times I went of this chapter, agonizing but then I figured, no more. Enough is enough. Although, on a lighter note, I think I noticed a small improvement in my writing. That is, when I can bring, cringing in agony, to read over my older stuff.

I hope you enjoyed it,

Amber

_Spread your wings and Fly…Butterfly _

_12/26/2008  
_


	13. Epilogue: Answers

Love Potion

Chapter 13: Answers

Amber Myst

* * *

One week had passed since the incident.

Seven miserable, lonely days.

Three hundred and thirty-six horrible, dreary, unbearable hours.

20,160 —

Raven's thoughts were cut short by a short, sharp rapping at her door. Her heart jumped against her ribcage, the intrusion jarring her forcibly from her melancholy thoughts as she stared at the ceiling.

"What?" Her reply was taut and a bit breathless, her voice unable to conceal her startled reaction.

"Raven…" A gentle voice addressed her softly through the door, filled with the uncertainty of one unsure of whether not one was a friend worthy of trust or an enemy that at any given moment might strike. With Raven's irascible and contentious mood lately, she was unsure of where she stood. "It is I, Starfire."

After a few seconds of undeterred silence, Starfire continued meekly.

"Will…will you join us for dinner?"

"Unlikely." Was the short reply.

Starfire slouched slightly in defeat, her shoulders hunching over. Her friend was not well and she could not find a way to 'fix' her although she knew from which the illness originated. "Please friend, is it possible for you to converse with me using more than one worded sentences?" She pleaded.

Lately, Raven's vocabulary consisted of 'what', 'unlikely', 'no', and often enough, low growls or snarls of warning. Beast Boy especially afforded the dark girl a wide berth. The longest sentence so far had been, 'leave me the hell alone'. That had been directed to the resident shape shifter accompanied with a low growl of warning and a piercing glare.

"Unlikely."

Starfire sighed heavily, not even attempting to keep the desolation from her voice. "Well, I shall save you some pizza then?"

"No…need."

After hearing a long sigh, Raven listened for the soft footsteps that indicated the departure of Starfire and wasn't disappointed as she was left once more to her overwhelmingly, dark and depressive thoughts.

She had no idea it would be this hard. Passing Robin in the halls of the Tower and not be able to run her fingers through his hair, On bad days, the only way to deter the impulse was to curl her fingers into a tight fist and hope no one noticed, which wasn't remotely difficult when her cape was undeterred. Having to simply stand next to him during missions or when the whole team was forced together was hell itself. Someone once said it was better to love and have lost than not have loved at all.

Pffft.

That was the biggest crock of bull that she had ever heard in her entire life. Nothing was worse than the constant ache in her heart every time she thought of him or the shortness of breath every time he smiled or laughed, even when it wasn't directed at her. Dreaming about him only to wake up cold and alone, without him by her side after days of becoming accustomed to it was like a dagger in her heart. Not having him hold her hand and whisper softly in her ear, the warm breath tickling her senses and driving her wild seemed to be hell on earth. She was seriously betting money on the fact that the creator of that particular adage had never truly fallen in love.

'Besides,' she scowled. 'I was perfectly content in my emotionally constipated reality.'

Maybe it would have been better if she didn't see him every day and wasn't reminded of what she couldn't have but her chest tightened uncomfortably at the thought. It was better to have him just beyond her reach instead of not knowing what he was doing and not having him a stone's throw away.

Sitting in the living room wasn't really worth the trouble of reassuring her comrades unless he was there. Conversation and other things usually ceased when she entered the room, the occupants usually wary of the resident empath and her cantankerous mood at that moment. Some days she was bearable and other days…just calmly and slowly leave the room with no quick movements and no one would get hurt...too badly.

Why did she love him? Was it vestiges of the love spell? Could it be that it awakened something that was already there? Or created feelings because she knew he wanted her? It was almost too much to consider. Maybe it was his humor, or the quirky way his eyebrow would raise when she say or did something that was out of the norm. The expressive tone to his voice and brightness in his face when talked to her—and only to her—as if he had developed a special persona only for her. Maybe it was his powerful grace and the way he drew her eyes whenever he entered a room. Or maybe it was his innate hopefulness and that fact that he believed in her, beyond anyone else. She didn't know. But all she did know was that she wanted it to stop. And yet the thought of it ceasing hurt beyond anything else.

A soft knock at her door interrupted her thoughts once more and a low growl emanated from her throat. "Leave. Or die." Her ultimatum was spoken in clear, low tones that demanded immediate obedience.

"Raven?" Sounded the voice that seemed to haunt her dreams. It was firm and louder than normal as he demanded her immediate attention. He didn't need to raise his voice, she would have heard and recognized the voice if he had just whispered. "We need to talk."

Raven stiffened, remembering the day she uttered those very words, as she responded flatly. "Why?"

"Why?" He echoed incredulously, his voice muffled by the door. Suddenly the urge to see him swamped her. "Because I'm worried! The team is worried! I want to know that you're alright. Raven, please come out." He voice had gentled towards the end of his speech and she softened considerably. After several seconds of silence his voice sounded again. "Can I at least come in?"

Raven nodded stupidly before realizing he couldn't see her. She cursed herself silently before calling aloud in the best monotone she could manage, "Fine."

She didn't bother to lift her head up from the pillow. If she saw him, she couldn't be sure that she could keep her hands to herself. She waited a few seconds for him to talk but only silence answered her.

Aggravated, she propped herself up on her pillows to glare at him only to find him at the foot of her bed. "What?"

He stood stoically in front of her, only the gentle rise and fall of his chest claimed him to be alive. The intensity of his stare was unnerving her. Yes, he had his mask on but she could still feel the weight of his ponderous gaze. She sat up fully, pressing her back against her headboard as she pulled her pillow into her arms to fiddle with it nervously. Assuming her lotus position, she just stared back, her eyes going everywhere but to his face. Why was he just standing there staring at her? What was he thinking? What emotions were hidden behind his mask?

"Robin…was there something you wanted or were you just going to stand there and stare?"

He suddenly smiled softly. "I got you to actually use my name…and what was that, a fifteen word sentence?"

She growled, her face tingeing red. "If you're just-"

"Quiet Raven, I was just getting started."

Surprisingly, she shut her mouth. Frowning furiously at him, she crossed her arms over her chest as her knee tapped impatiently against the sheets.

"I really don't buy that story you guys told me about Jinx knocking me out for two weeks. It just doesn't feel right."

Raven opened her mouth to make a snide remark but Robin cut her off again. "It makes no sense that I dream what would never happen, not in a million years and yet they're so vivid it's almost as if they were actual memories."

Staring intently at her, she felt his gaze heavily and it made her nervous and excited at the same time. Horror replaced her mixed emotions at his next statement.

"I dream of _you_, Raven. Every night without fail. I want to know why. I want to know why it is that when I walk into my bedroom at night, it feels strange, like I don't belong there but somewhere else. _With_ someone else."

Hardening and blanking her face, she sneered at him. "I sorry if you still have wet dreams." Inwardly, she was cursing herself for botching the memory alteration, reasoning that it must have been because of her massive energy loss that night of the sheer exhaustion.

His face emptied, and she could almost see the cogs turning in his mind as he stepped closer, his knees pressing into the bed. "I've heard a variation of that from you before, haven't I?" He muttered as racked his memory, trying to recall why it seemed like such strong deja vu. He was never one to ignore his instincts, and they never led him astray.

"Get out of my room, Boy Blunder. I've had enough of your nonsense."

He narrowed his eyes, his arms crossing against his chest in an obviously defiant challenge. "Make me."

In a flash, she was kneeling before him, her bed just high enough so that the two birds were at eye level. "Out. Now. Don't make me, make you."

"What are you trying to hide from me, Raven?" His eyes searched her narrowed ones, hoping for a sign or a clue to assuage his misgivings. The muscles in his hand twitched, a spasm in his arms here or there, desperate to complete a motion that they've become mysteriously accustomed to when around Raven. A muscle memory that he didn't possess merely weeks ago tried to reassert its existence, but his will locked the muscles in place. Closing his eyes and sighing, he relaxed, and blanked his mind of all conscious thought as he endeavored to figure out what it was his subconscious was attempting to do; trying to remember.

Raven became wary as his tense, searching features suddenly slackened. She watched with slight trepidation as his hand lifted shakily into the air. What was he doing?

She froze, inhaling sharply when his hand slid into her hair; his gloved fingertips caressing her smooth cheek, sliding along her curved jaw, brushing against the shell of ear, before coming to lock in hair by the base of her skull, palming cupping her neck. Her eyes widened dramatically. Robin only did this when he wanted to kiss her. But, how would he remember that? He gently pulled her face forward and she offered no resistance, her eyes fluttering close as her heart palpitated wildly, and her blood pounded like the roar of the bay outside in her ears. Her breath remained stuck in her throat as longing and the thrill of anticipation overwhelmed her. Oh how she missed this...

His lips brushed hers softly: once then twice, his tongue slipping out to savor the taste upon them. Her fingers lifted tentatively, afraid to touch him and break the moment, almost as if he wasn't truly there, just a phantom or a shadow that would melt away if she tried to hold on to it.

Letting her fingers rest lightly against his chest, she quietly sighed against his mouth. Taking advantage of the parting of her lips, his tongue slipped in, playing only at the entrance. When Raven's tongue met his own boldly, beckoning him in even farther, he complied. His free arm snaked around her waist and brought her closer to him, trapping her hands between their bodies. The hand clenching her waist then slid to her backside, gripping it slightly as he pressed her hips towards his. She mewled softly, breaking him from his trance, and his eyes shot open in shock as he stared at her, the realization of what he just did crashing into him with the frightful intensity of a nuclear warhead. Nevertheless, he couldn't summon the strength to pull away from her. His heart was beating erratically in his chest, his breath caught in his throat and his mouth was suddenly dry. He was still trying to grasp the enormity of the situation. But despite the strangeness of it....he felt complete, as if an emptiness he hadn't been aware of for the past several weeks had finally been filled.

His fingers clenched hard in her hair as he pulled back slightly from her face. Sighing in completion, his breath ghosted across her sensitive lips and she shuddered, her fingers twisting in his shirt as she clung to him. "I've missed this...I don't know how, but I did....I do"

Brushing his lips against her petal soft ones, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes again. "Tell me why I'm doing this, Raven. You should have kicked my ass into the next century for even _thinking_ about touching you. And oddly, this _feels_ right."

"Do you...remember anything?" She was going to tell him what happened. There was nothing else for her to do. She tried to give him a chance at happiness. Apparently she had botched the task of erasing his memory and there was nothing she could do about it because she had already erased most of it. Searching his mind for individual memories anchored to nothing would be essentially like raping his mind, and she _refused_ to do that. Unless he really wanted to forget.

Frowning at her, he racked his memory. "Only little things that come to me while I'm dreaming...like this."

'Like what?' was going to be Raven's next question before his lips suddenly attached themselves to her weak point, the area where her jaw met her ear. Shocked, she gave a very un-Raven-like squeal of surprise, before turning her face towards his, pushing it away, and tucking her cheek against her neck.

"No fair!" She gasped as Robin laughed at her expense but she really couldn't find any anger. Anger was the farthest thing from her mind.

His expression became serious again as he fingers began twirling silken strands of lavender between them. "Will you tell me the truth now?"

Sighing once again in defeat, she diverted her eyes. "It's a long story."

"We've nothing but time." He brushed his lips against her temple, enjoying the scent of her shampoo which seemed excruciatingly familiar.

Raven went into a rushed, ten minute account of the whole incident and Robin listened, slack jawed. Coming to a close, Raven chewed on her bottom lip as she racked her brain for something she might have missed. "Nope that's all."

Robin stared blankly at her. "Right....well. That was...interesting?"

"That's an understatement."

He nodded in agreement. "So what's next?"

Raven suddenly remembered _why _she tried to erase his memory. She looked at him, before looking away again, misery shining in her eyes as she steeled herself, ignoring the pain in her heart. "I want things to go back to the way they were."

"What? You can't be serious, Raven." He couldn't control the tinge of disappointment and hurt in his voice. "I can't turn back now that I know Raven."

She growled in frustration. "That's why I erased your memory in the first place! I don't want you to be trapped loving me if it's not your choice! All because I botched the job and couldn't erase all those memories properly."

Pushing away from him, she slid from the bed, placing her feet on the floor. The empath skirted around him and stared out the window, holding her arms.

"Raven, all I want is _you! _I don't remember being in love, I remember _you_! And I miss you. I don't think I've ever been in love, before---not that I remember---and if this _is_ love, then I don't want to give it up. Can't we at least try?"

"Then, you're in love with a memory of me induced by an errant love spell. A memory you only have because of Jinx's interference. Without her, these memories wouldn't exist!" She rested her forehead against the cold window, her hands braced against the sill for support. The setting sun burned crimson onto her closed eyes, as she tried to keep her tears from slipping free.

Why was she doing this to herself. Her mind kept telling her she was torturing herself for _him._ So he wouldn't be trapped into loving her by any misconstrued memory. But her heart screamed at her to stop. Because he just might listen to her befuddled reasoning and turn away, leaving her broken and alone. But she was doing the right thing...right?

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth? Because that is what Jinx's interference was. When I held you just then, kissed you, I felt _complete_, like I had found the one thing I hadn't known I was missing. That was something I felt while caught up in _you_." She felt him move behind her, closing in on her position and she pressed herself against the window as if, if she pressed hard enough, it would protect her from the fury of her turbulent emotions and those churning at her back. His hunger and need was palpable, searing the air with colors only she could detect.

"I...I don't," She flinched, stiffening as his arms encircled her from behind, his nose burying into her neck, inhaling her scent like a man dying of hunger.

"Please Raven."

Eventually she relaxed against his hold, enjoying the warmth and comfort of his arms around her while it lasted. Her reply was a whisper.

"No."

Shocked, Raven's gentle push actually caused him to stumble back and she melted into the floor, the scent of her tears and the sound of her stifled sob lingering in the thick air.

* * *

The night was icy, as if all the warmth in the world had abandoned her leaving her cold and lonely. Even the stars hid themselves from view as raging, churning clouds obscured the entire night sky. Normally cold didn't bother her, but tonight, she felt as if she would never be warm again.

She said no for a reason. But at the moment, her resolve was faltering as her heart questioned her motives. Why did she say no? She had been pining after him for an entire week and when the moment of her dreams arrived, she thrust them away, like some type of grotesque nightmare. Was she afraid of love? Of want would happen, perhaps?

Under a love spell, Robin couldn't break her heart. He wasn't allowed to so she was secure in knowing that her heart was safe. But now...there were no guarantees. Her new, tender emotions were raw and still perplexing. It was okay to show emotions and affection to Robin because, if anything, she could subconsciously blame it on the love spell and Robin would still be there. Because he had to come back. However, she no longer had that safety net to depend on, and she could screw up badly any relationship she wished to pursue with Robin. Already their friendship was probably screwed.

Sometimes the sheer magnitude of her feelings for him scared the living crap out of her. It was frightening how a facial expression of his could change her day or a single sentence could determine her mood. Or how a simple caress could make her heart flop and her stomach feel leaden.

However, as the fear of love choked up her throat, the terror of losing him rolled like molten lava in the pit of her stomach, burning her with it's intensity. Pulling her legs against her chest and twining her arms around them, she tried to get her shallow breaths to even out.

Raven loved him so much it hurt. And _that's_ what scared her beyond comprehension. Being so beholden to another person was against her very nature. She grew up alone, and with out peers. Even her own mother was forbidden to show her affection, lest it cause her powers to lash out. But did she want to at least try? There were no guarantees that she could or even would emerge from this unscathed.

But as she thought of the fluttering of her heart upon his touch, or the way her senses heightened when he entered a room, or the feeling of security and warmth she felt when he held her, or the boundless happiness she experienced when he smiled or laughed, she only had one answer. She _had _to try.

So involved in her introspection, she didn't notice the presence behind her. Jumping to her feet, she whirled in place, determined to chase Robin down but halted instantly: he was standing behind her, the rain dropping from him...and completely maskless.

Her eyes widened and amethyst clashed with steel and caught. She had to catch her breath against the gasp that lodged in her throat.

"I…I" The words refused to move past the lump of pure emotion in her throat and her frustration with her own lack of words mounted. Why couldn't she just say it? Why was it always so difficult to express herself and the emotions that welled up in her? After years of bottling up and forcibly repressing her emotions, trying to bring herself to say them aloud was like sticking needles through her eyelids.

"Fuck it!" She growled, throwing herself at Robin while her arms twined around his neck. He reflexively caught her, stumbling back a step from the force. Tipping herself to her toes, she crushed her mouth against his, letting her actions speak for themselves as she poured her soul into the kiss. Grey eyes widened in shock and amazement before drifting close with the moment. He returned the kiss just as feverishly. His arms tightened around her body as he attempted to mold her body to his so that she would never get away again.

He stopped slanting his mouth across hers to take a break for much needed oxygen. "Does…does this mean what I think it means?"

A full-blown smile found her lips and she closed the distance between their lips, stopping just short of his. Her breath was hot and moist against his as she paused, "What do you think Boy Blunder?"

* * *

"Raven!" The shout rang through the T Tower and Cyborg instinctively cringed, the sound reminiscent of days better left in the past but then he took a second to pause. The voice wasn't filled rage but with something a bit more subtle and full of a different type of promise. "Wait a minute, what? Raven?"

The aforementioned person slid breathlessly into room. Upon finding him in the room, Raven gave him a salacious wink before exiting the room via the window.

Cyborg stood stock still, completely bewildered as four seconds later, Robin entered the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" He demanded from his leader, forgetting from previous episodes that when he asked the birds' this type of question he never ended up liking the answer.

Robin flashed him a wicked smirk before strolling to the window so that there was no confusion about the implications of his words. "Raven usually likes to make me work for it."

"Oh HELL No! Too much information, man!!! Have you no decency at all? Oh GOD, my ears!" He did NOT want to know anything at all about their sex life. He shuddered as his imagination went to work with those words and produced scenarios that made him want to permanently shut down his power core or wipe his entire hard drive.

Robin shrugged, wicked grin still in place. "You asked, Tin Man." Then he disappeared out of the window.

Cyborg had finally learned his lesson about asking questions.

* * *

He found her in the training room waiting for him and when he entered she smiled, a curve of lips so wicked he had to pause to catch his breath, desire nearly renting him in half. Raven had awakened in him a fierce, nearly careless counterpart that he did not know existed; that could not exist except in her presence or by the promise of her. He could still not remember the events that had happened over a month ago but he looked forward to, with a wicked glee and anticipation that made his knees go weak and his head spin, the opportunity to make new and even better memories. He was irrevocably in love with her and if it were up to him, they would stay together for always. He knew it because it was in her rarely given but exquisite smile, and the way she blew the hair away from her eyes when it was obstructing her view and the simmering look she would give him--and only him. It was in both the quiet moments and the loud; the gentle moments and the fierce as well. She still had trouble controlling herself around him--honestly, who could blame her? Hence the training room, the strongest, most reinforced room in the tower. But he would walk with her every step of the way until she could achieve that plateau. He was under her spell and there was no where else he'd rather be.

"Took you long enough." Her cloak fell to the floor; he loved that she didn't feel the need to hide from him. The action was followed by a flicker of movement from her hand and the steel enforced door behind him slammed shut, the lock crashing soundly into place.

She playfully quirked an eyebrow, "I thought maybe you weren't coming."

A disbelieving snort escaped Robin as he leaned against the door, arms folded nonchalantly across his chest as his eyes drank in the sight of her. "You know me better than that."

She sauntered over, his eyes following the subtle swaying of her hips. Bracing her hands against the door to either side of his head, she meet his eyes as his arms snaked around her waist. "Kiss me?" It was half plea, half demand.

He smiled. "Your wish is my command."

* * *

Four floors below, Beast Boy jumped out of his skin as the lights flickered and a loud crash from above drew his eyes straight up to the ceiling.

"What the hell was that?"

Cyborg shook his head, before laying it between two hands and covering his ears.

"Please, just don't ask."

.

.

.

End

* * *

Man, nearly three and a half years later. This needed to be finished and it seems like a huge relief to me. There's certainly a definite amount of pride in having finished my first story outside of one- and two-shots. I've decided that if I'm to become serious about my writing and becoming an author then this had to end. No loose ends...for the most part.

I love everyone--absolutely everyone--who reviewed and stuck with me through this. I know that this fandom had dwindled, but I had to finish this, not only for myself but for you guys as well. I might start with fanfiction again, maybe not, but there is a strong possibility, although not in this fandom. I definitely want to concentrate on other aspects of writing, like developing my own characters and worlds. To all, thanks for sticking it out. God Bless.

Amber Myst

_Spread your wings and Fly… Butterfly _

_04/06/2009_

P.S. I was up last night (til 'bout 4 am when I had a 8 am class) shifting through all of my old email from my old email account when I realized, "Holy, crap! All of my old work is still here!" It's all there because this was before I discovered the joys of memory sticks and the crappy floppy drives kept failing on me. So there's a _really _good possibility that I will be revising, reposting, and finishing my other TT fic, Hell's Fury. As I said, I don't like any loose ends. So my really, really, old fans, who remember that one, don't despair. And I really love all the positive feedback from you guys and the understanding. (04/07/2009)


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